Doubt
by JapanCat
Summary: Alternate Universe: Monterey, California, 2008. Welcome to the no-man's land in the conflict between two parallel worlds. There's one force left to stop the levee from breaking... or are they just pawns?
1. Premonitions

**Doubt  
**_Disclaimer: Why do we have to write these? There's FAN in the word fanfiction. Obviously the fan doesn't own this stuff. Unless you're Mel Gibson or Ted Turner then I guess you DO have rights to the characters. But if I must... I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. Quit freaking asking.  
__Random beginning note: Maya is NOT an original character. The details are somewhere in the notes below._

Chapter 1: Premonitions

Shuichi Minamino pulled up to the building, taking one final glance at the post-it on his dashboard to confirm that it was the correct address. Of course, the woman on the phone- the chief, apparently- told him that it was pretty much in the middle of bumfuck nowhere so he shouldn't be able to miss it. A big grey box in the middle of some dunes near the outskirts of town... Yeah, this was definitely the place.

He stepped out of the car and the woman standing in front of the building, coffee mug in hand, nodded to him before walking his way. She was short, maybe- what- five-three, five-two? She had a half smile on her face in contrast to the slight tilt of her brows into a glare. (Or rather her brow, considering that the right half of her face was covered by her combed over auburn hair. Taking a quick glance at her face, Shuichi saw there were etchings of scars across the bridge of her nose, going down to her neck, and presumably, all over that side of her face.) She took the mug into her left hand and held out her right to shake. That being done, she asked, "You're here for the interview, I take it?" What kind of accent was that? Irish? She certainly had the look down.

When he nodded, she went on, "Okay, then follow me to my office and we'll get the paperwork done for you. By the way, my name's Mukuro Reeve, but you'll call me what you will. Most people refer to me just as Chief for some reason. Kind of comes with the position, I guess..."

He followed behind her, glancing around the building. The walls were the same color as those in a DMV- off white with an air of being trapped in a prison until they call your number three hours later. It was a series of desks arranged in pairs around the room, each one equipped with a computer and piles of papers. Along the wall closest to Mukuro's office was a row of grey filing cabinets, interrupted only by the table with a coffee maker and cups and a mini refrigerator. At one of them was a small pale dark haired man who stared at them until they entered the office.

Mukuro sat him down in one of the two chairs in front of her desk. She shifted through the piles of papers arranged randomly on her desk, went through the drawers, and after a sigh, went to one of the cabinets next to the bookshelf and pulled out a sheet of paper and a clipboard. "This is pretty straightforward. Just fill in any of the information. With your apparent background, it shouldn't be too difficult to fill in all of the blanks." Shuichi cocked a brow and started filling it out. After about ten minutes he handed the sheet back to her.

She glanced at the papers and then at him. "So you _ are_ Shuichi Minamino? The infamous Shuichi Minamino?"

Infamous? "Yes, Miss..." He paused to allow her to fill in the blank. The response was a cocked eyebrow as if to say, "Don't push it, you bastard."

He liked to think that she didn't notice the gesture or just wasn't paying attention to anything past the word "Yes." She continued on with the interview. "Just wanted to make sure. We had gotten word that three people were supposed to show up since last week. So far you're the only one that's come forward. I suppose it's best not to think too hard about what went on there. Let's get down to business, shall we? So what the academy said was that you were such a spectacular guy they recommended that you come here as soon as you moved in here at Monterrey. It says something about you being at the top of your class and..." She flipped through the papers and cocked a brow. "Is there any reason that you moved here? It's quite a drive coming from..." She went back to the page. "...Sacramento. And it's an entirely different atmosphere all things considered and I can't imagine you just having any tie to this city."

"My mother had an illness recently. I just wanted to be near her when it happens again. She gets sick easily. About the recommendation... I don't understand that. I just graduated and I was supposed to be working for the city of Monterrey..."

"Who said that we weren't? We're just a special forces unit that only certain people can join. They wanted their best man to get into a good department. Don't worry about that at all. I'm glad you came here. We've been needing people lately. A lot of people have been retiring since last year and it's been trouble trying to compensate for them all. No one wants to have this job anymore since they started showing the CHP officer killings in the news. We were lucky even to say we had three possible new members... You know, Monterrey not too bad. If you want me to be perfectly honest, I think we're more in control in this city than the capital." She shook his hand again. "Welcome to the team."

He suddenly felt some sort of shock wave within his body causing him to freeze up. He felt intense paranoia and the feeling of someone probing through his mind. There was a clear image in his mind of a hand splitting his head open and groping around through each of his memories, picking each one out and leaving a sharp prick in the center of his head. Some twisted phantasmagoria of memories began to flash before his eyes. Before he knew it, the woman was helping him up though a look of apathy was pasted on her face.

"Are you okay, Kurama?" she asked. "You just fainted. Must be too cold for you or something. I'm always hot so I don't feel the cold."

"Yes, I'm okay. Wait, what did you call me?"

"Kurama. The name kind of suits you. I heard a story when I was a child about a spirit fox named Youko Kurama. According to legend, he and his partner were both ruthless killers. Apparently Kurama would pick any lock and break any seal. He brought a lot of fear even around here. He was last seen around... Twenty four years ago more or less. You look like him too..."

"Excuse me?"

She made her half smile again and walked to the door. She motioned for Shuichi to follow her out. "Did I mention that you came at the perfect time? I don't recall telling you that. There's actually someone here that needs a partner too. I'll introduce you. Wait here..." She walked away and came back within five minutes with the pale man who was at the filing cabinets. He about a head shorter than she was and looked like he was still a minor around fifteen or so (though it could have been because of his height) since there were no real signs of his aging. His hair stood up in pikes, the black interrupted above his forehead in a outburst of white. Looking at him close, Shuichi saw the traces of dark circles under his eyes, his habit of fidgeting constantly. But there was one trait in particular that caught Shuichi's interest. His eyes. His eyes were a bright shade of red. It meant one thing.

"Hiei Heinrichovich," he introduced himself in a heavy Russian accent. He looked Shuichi up and down as though sizing him up.

"Minamino Shuichi." He held out his hand for it to be shaken. Hiei stared at the hand and then at Shuichi but he didn't even acknowledge the gesture.

"Shuichi? Mukuro, I thought you said his name was Kurama. Someone's wrong here."

She ignored that comment. "Well, that looks like it's been taken care of. You guys can get to know each other later. Be here tomorrow morning at ten, Minamino. I'll have everything set up for you for your first case. That goes for you, too, Hiei. But I don't have to say anything to you either." She started on her way back to the office. "By the way, Hiei, could you put on another pot of coffee?"

"I'm not your servant," he replied. She shrugged and went into her office with a powerful slam of the door. Hiei groaned and cursed under his breath in his native tongue. He glanced at Shuichi again with his mix of a frown and a half-smile. "We must really be desperate to let some new person in this fast. I bet she probably gave you some bullshit story about how no one ever applies to be here. You had to have done something terrible."

"I was meaning to ask about that. How can you already get a letter of recommendation if I barely graduated from the academy? I hadn't started applying for any departments yet I got a letter from the last chief here the day I graduated that I was already accepted here. I don't understand how that works."

"Like I said, you had to have done SOMETHING terrible. No one ever gets recommended here on good behavior. If you're good then you have to apply. You should know that with you being what you are."

"I'm not understanding."

"Just looking at you... I'd say that body isn't even yours. That's a pretty severe crime legally. Snatching someone's life like that is also frowned upon no matter where you come from. There's nothing terrible about being a body thief at all. That's just weak."

"I don't know what you're trying to say."

"Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you." He looked at the clock and cursed in his native tongue again. "I have better things to do. Go home."

-:-:-

Maya Kitajima growled in frustration as she stared at her watch. "Man, I'm ten minutes early. I really need to reset my alarm. I keep thinking I woke up late... But I guess I can take my time today..." She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and took out the newspaper tucked in between the pages of her textbook. She turned to page four to the coverage of the Mannequin Murderer, so this paper called it. Bodies were found in the area of what was once a mannequin factory chopped into pieces and the victim could never be "put together again," since most parts were gone. Police suspect cannibalism. Targets look like they're young women, though there's been a lot of findings of teenage boys.

If there was anything about this case that Maya was sure about, it was that this killer can't be a human. Self proclaimed master cyptidzoologist, ufologist, and anything else in the area of the paranormal, she was sure that that was the case. "Maybe I should go there tonight, too." She smiled at the thought, not at the possibility of having the fame of solving the murders and proving the existence of some sort of strange thing that goes bump in the night, just the aspect of having a solid sense of adventure for once in her twenty-three years of living. She started to walk while stuffing the newspaper in her textbook but walked into someone, dropping her books in surprise.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going..." Her face flushed and she dropped to her knees. She struggled to pile her books and papers together. She stopped when she saw another pair of hands helping her. She felt more blood rush to her face, her hands start to shake, and she took the last of the papers. She swallowed the lump in her throat and mumbled, "Oh... Thank you so much. I'm such a klutz and... I'm so sorry. I really should have been looking where I was going and..."

"It's okay. Really. I won't hurt you," Shuichi replied with a smile. "I'm not in a hurry or anything. And besides that... How can I do that to an old friend?"

She paused and leaned forward as if to inspect every inch of his face. "Hey! You're... Are you Shuichi Minamino?"

"Yes. Yes I am." He pulled back a bit.

"I thought so! How could I forget your face?" He helped her up as she went on, "I can't believe I would run into you like this. But I guess I should be glad it's you since you wouldn't hurt a fly."

He chuckled at that. More at the irony behind the statement than anything else. "You don't know, Maya, maybe I wanted to become a rogue cop after leaving the academy."

She laughed. "That'll be the day. You're too much of a nice guy to do that. Your idea of that would be just jaywalking all over the place on the job and speeding one mile above the speed limit... But... I didn't know you came here. It's a long drive moving in here from Sacramento, isn't it? Like, what, two-three hours? I found that out the hard way." And under her breath, "I guess it's still worth it."

"My mother moved here shortly after we graduated high school because of my stepfather's promotion. She got sick last year so I decided that I wanted to move in somewhere near her. I actually live about a couple of blocks from her now. I'm glad I got to see you again. It's been so long. To be honest, I kind of forgot you went here. I got most people mixed up. For some reason, I was sure you went to UOP or Davis."

"Um, yeah... But you know, I don't think I've changed much. But I almost didn't recognize you with your hair so long. I think you're prettier than I am! Do they really let you keep your hair like that? And I also tried to email you so many times but I lost the paper I wrote it on. So how is your mother right now? She was such a sweetheart from what I remember."

"Her health is still good, but I still need to go visit her. I've been so busy moving in lately."

"We should go catch up over a Starbucks coffee." She glanced at her watch again. "Ack! But not now! I'll see you later Shuichi!" She ran off feeling her face burn up again. Her roommate would say she's never seen Maya happier.

-:-:-

The time was five minutes past midnight. Out in the woods passed the army base, a beaten down Honda civic pulled up on the dirt path and three high school boys about seventeen years of age walked in a formation not unlike birds flying in a flock with the one at the center of the formation holding a flashlight. They went up the steep path, sliding a bit on the damp earth and pushing each other slightly along the way.

"Let's ditch this place, man. I'm so tired. I just wanna get some sleep," the one to the left said. He stopped and made a show out of yawning. The one on the right rolled his eyes.

"Shut up. We get fifty bucks if we do this. Unless you don't wanna get that one thing you wanted. Shit, I can't remember what it was," the one with the flashlight hissed. "What was it like, Halo or some shit like that?"

"Oh yeah. You're so much more brave than he is. And fifty bucks is only, what, less than a quarter tank of gas here in California? What can you get that's any good and fifty bucks?" the one to the right asked.

"Man... It reminds me of that one creepy pasta with the guys standing around that table with that knife in it and it's all white and..." the left one shuddered. "Hey, don't look at me like that! That shit's scary. I couldn't sleep for a week after that, okay? And I had to sit with the light on. My bro still calls me a pussy."

"Cause you are, dumb ass. You also thought that Nyx thing from Persona 3 looked like something from a creepy pasta. You can't even play Persona without getting as scared and wimpy. Why don't you call up your grandma and have her give you your baa-baa..."

"You're an ass hat."

"Both of you shut up!" the leader growled as he kicked the door open. The other two shrugged and walked in the building. "Hey I bet this'll make a good hideout. You know I heard this used to be a mannequin factory. Bet they have the stuff to make the perfect girls if you know what I mean..."

"But didn't you forget that this place is haunted?" the one on the left whispered. "There was a fire here and lots of people died here. That's why Kenji told us to come here right now. Cause he said..."

"I know what he said, we were there! ...But, hell... You're right. This place is scary... I think... Oh do you see that?" the one on the right screamed causing the other two to scream. "Ha! Fooled you! Man, did you see the look on his face? Check your diaper for piss!"

"You jerk! I'm gonna get you for this!"

"Ooooh... I'm the ghost of the mannequins... Put on this dress... It costs twenty bucks... Ooooh... Look at me doing spirit fingers! Look!" He wiggled his fingers in his friend's face until he got socked in the ribs.

The leader twisted around. "What the...? I thought I heard something." He turned the flashlight around the room. His breathing picked up speed and the hairs on the back of his head started to stand up. His hand started to shake so much that he dropped the light. When he bent down he saw the outline of a foot in the light. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh..."

"Not you too! You guys need to stop."

"No seriously! I just... Oh god, where'd it go?"

A hand reached over and...

**/And there was none.**

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:**

**I was pretty much straightforward with this... Maya appears only in the manga in the side-story called "Two Shots"** **which is in volume seven. She's a friend of Kurama's and... That's pretty much it. If you need to know more then, I tell you in a reply or something. The story's about how Kurama and Hiei meet... I may be telling everybody what they already know though...**  
The name "Lovecraft" appears a lot. Come from the man who created Cthulu. HP Lovecraft.  
I used the bay area because I know it so well. The college at Monterrey has empty buildings to so it's like the ideal place for a ghost story. And Sacramento is a city everyone in Cali knows. And this is NOT a slash. But I could be a bitch about it and make it feel like it because I can. I hope I won't... I have nothing else to say right now... Please join me on my journey. But I'll be mad at a one word review.

**See you soon, JC.**

**(editor's note: Fixing up my typos and other generally annoying plot holes. Also I think the title was stupid.)  
**


	2. Turning of the Screw

**Doubt  
**_Random beginning Note: I thought Eight Hands was a cheap low budget name. Stupid Eight Hands. I bet his hair's fake! It's a wig! Oh yeah... And this is once again more based on the manga. But it has to be... Man._

Chapter 2: Turning of the Screw

Hiei looked at the alarm clock he had on the desk. Five fifty-nine and fifty- seven, -eight, -nine, and! He slammed a hand just as the clock started beeping and listened in on the one next door go off. He knew he didn't need the alarm, but he kept it out of habit anyway. He sighed and pulled out a post it and marked the page of the medical encyclopedia he was reading. _Maybe I should have gone out last night. I could risk her bitching at me. _He sat at the desk still and stared out the window. Not much of a view, but it's better than the one he had in the past. He glanced at the clock again. Six-fourteen and fifty-eight, -nine, and..._  
_

There was a knock at the door. He called for her to open it.

"You up?" Mukuro asked in a partial whisper.

"Do you have to ask?" Hiei answered and he rolled his eyes.

"Doesn't hurt to make sure so I don't wake you up."

"And you know I don't sleep."

"Keep telling yourself that." She turned around and walked back to her room. He sighed and walked towards the kitchen.

"Hey, make me some coffee since you're up," Mukuro said as she walked towards the bathroom.

"Make your own damn coffee!" Hiei growled. The only response he got was the closing of the bathroom door and the sound of the shower kicking on. He sighed. _This is how it's supposed to be. Tch. Everyone told me to go and live with some woman. I know damn well they didn't mean it like this. _But this how it's been for ten years now. The first being the adventure, her being the teacher and the student, intending only to part ways once he learned enough English to pass on his own. And it decayed slowly. Or he thought it did. She just pretended nothing changed so she could sleep. (And that she could sleep, he couldn't help but think she was just a lucky bitch.) Locked together as partners once they started working here in Monterrey, that damn Lovecraft Department, and then it fell apart when took on her new position. And damn it, if there's any change it shouldn't come together like that all that once. _And why don't I just leave...?_

He groaned and set the coffee maker, then turned to the sink. No dishes. Right, he already did that last night. And mopped and swept the floors. And clean all the glass. But there was still someone who said he missed something. He had to follow. Story of every night.

"Something wrong?" Mukuro asked. He turned around and she was there fully dressed, hair still damp. He didn't answer, but then again, she already knew he wouldn't. "You want me to dirty some dishes for you? I could lick them if you want." He glared at her. "Well, don't stand there looking bored or I'd have to resort to desperate measures. I wish you could do that for me. Though that's kind of unfortunate, isn't it? You'd have to get a record for me to..." She rambled on. Once again, complaining about her damn promotion, since apparently all of her life she gets that sort of thing without asking. At least she could turn it down though. Once again, that damn, lucky bitch.

Then again, who's to say Santiago wasn't also one of the ones won over by whatever it is that attracts people to her like flies?

When she got in these moods, he always replied, "So why don't you just step down and shut up?"

"I honestly wish I could but I can't since no one else wants to take this job. Probably because they don't think they'll be paid near enough either way. I'm not sure. And even if I had the nerve to just tell them I quit, they'd just give me another slap on the wrist and drag me back anyway. Apparently, I'm still not reformed. I don't know how long they're planning to keep me on watch like I am or when they'll just bury that whole thing. It's been a little more than a decade, you know that?" She settled at the table.

"You know they never will. You give one person even a paper cut and they'll be all over you. I stopped caring since I never really did anything here. If they want to keep everyone on watch for everything then let them. They'll just wear themselves out in the end. That's the way it's always been, hasn't it? You could be in the Gulags all your life but they'll never forgive you even when they forget what the hell it is you've done." He glanced at the machine. Looks like it was about to go off. He walked to the refrigerator and took out the creamer.

"I'll do that. ...And I didn't do anything big either but..." She shrugged.

Yeah, you only gutted a guy. That's no big deal. That's no big deal at all. And for what, because he hit on her or something? Perfectly reasonable. He groaned. "You're probably better off going back to Canada or whatever they call it in the other world. I don't remember it in English."

"It's the United Republic of Canada... Or something like that. I haven't paid attention to it in almost a hundred years, remember? I think the United States split it with Britain by now. They've been fighting over who gets more trades with it or something like that. There's so many things going on there that I forgot who's fighting who anymore. I want to go back there as much as you want to go back to the Soviet Union because they all idolize you being what is it? The youngest general or whatever?" She stared at him. Damn it, it was like she could see through him. Reading through him.

He cringed at the thought. "Never mind then." He felt a strange sensation in the back of his mind. "Don't you dare think about..."

"Never mind then." And that was the end of it. "By the way... I think he's in town... I was looking at the files."

"For...?"

"Your case. I think you would hear about this one..."

And for once, he returned the stare.

-:-:-

Shuichi walked into Mukuro's office after knocking as though he was trying to make as little noise as possible. Mukuro glanced up at him and indicated for him to sit. Shuichi glanced at the bookshelf, where Hiei was standing, a book of Freudian principles in his hand and staring back at him.

"You know, you don't need to knock. I'm always in here expecting someone. I'm not going to die of cardiac arrest if you don't," Mukuro said. "I have your badge and your gun here. They came in pretty quick. Apparently the person who does all this was really happy to finally..." She paused. "...do what he has to do. I did the job of sticking your ID in there. The academy was kind enough to send us a picture for that. And let me give you one piece of advice for this." She held out the gun. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. The bullets are silver and most people are really weakened by it. I'm not cautioning you against using it because of the cost of the bullets, but because it's actually really inconvenient to use in most cases. I'm sure you're well versed in other forms of combat though."

They both glanced at Hiei, whose back was turned. In one of his four belts was hanging a sword. "That being said, since your partner is also kind enough to meet us here..." She turned to him, held out a hand ready to poke him.

"I'm listening. I can't tune the world out like nothing," Hiei replied, clearly resisting the urge to smack her.

"Lovely. Well, for your first case, I want you to take care of the murderer. The story behind that is that teenagers, typically young women but there have been quite a few groups of boys too, went missing. They found some traces of the bodies left as if they were eaten. I have a suspect in mind but I want more evidence before jumping to conclusions. You know what they say about assuming."

"No, I don't actually."

"Yeah and you can't even spell potato right, Zamyatin, so don't talk. Anyway, the last few groups of victims were found at an abandoned mannequin factory. Whoever's doing this finally found a place to hide out since no one in their right mind would just go to a place like that on a whim. In the beginning when it was usually a bunch of girls, they were usually walking around at night in different parts of town. Partygoers of course. We finally got some sort of a lead on this one. There was a witness who noticed the boys as they were on their way to the factory. He happened to follow them to see what they were up to but he never saw them leave. He ran away after hearing screams coming from the inside. He wasn't willing to see what was wrong. I want you to interview him again. You'll find him at the college off in Seaside. Here's his name and what information we can give you. Now you do what you have to do." She turned to Hiei. "Which means..."

"Yes, yes..." Hiei growled under his breath. "If we don't take care of it, I'll contact you. Butterfly effect, getting STDs from a toilet seat, No sex, drugs or booze, and whatever else you have to say. I get it. This one doesn't need it either, I'm sure. Let's go." He practically dragged Shuichi out.

"The college in Seaside. I think I know the name. It's CSUMB, isn't it?" Shuichi asked.

"I know it's there but I don't know the name. All college names are the same to me here. All look the same too."

"Oh, well..." He paused. "I don't recall introducing ourselves properly. I'm..." He paused went he saw Hiei writing something on a piece of paper.

"Here's my age and birthday and my social security number." Hiei gave him the paper. Shuichi just stared at him wide-eyed. "You're an idiot if you believe me." He held it up and all was written was his name Hiei Heinrichovich Zamyatin. "We just need to know each other's names. So quit living in a broken record, Minamono. We don't need to hear each other's life stories either. I'm sure if I asked you I'd be bored out of my mind and mine's no business of yours. Let's just go so we can get this done as fast as possible."

They arrived at the university after twenty minutes and took another fifteen minutes to find who they were looking for. Hiei stopped Shuichi in the lobby of a dorm which was almost empty save a few visitors, most likely the parents of the students. Hiei gestured for Kurama to come closer.

In a low whisper he explained to Shuichi, "Okay. I want you to wait here and look pretty while I talk to him. (Hiei probably figured that his partner was in need of some flattery.) If someone asks what you're doing just tell them you're waiting for someone or something of that nature. But do _not_ tell anyone that you're here for an investigation. You'll start an uproar if you do that and everyone would go from thinking there was a murder to thinking they'll be on COPS or have a chance to date some whore named Tela Tequila. I've had that happen before and I don't want to deal with it again. If you ever do anything stupid, don't expect me to bail you out-not now or ever. Same goes for me too. Got that?" Hiei asked and Shuichi nodded. "Good." He walked away.

Shuichi shrugged. _He's young. I know that for sure. Especially saying things like that to your boss. Or maybe it's because he's in the United States. Being from the Soviet Union I would want to use all my rights as much as I can. That is, if what they say is true. _He stopped. _What is that smell...? _He looked around and followed the scent into an area near the bathrooms. _That can't be it. Not at..._ Then a semi-solid texture that began forming into a slime the color of mildew. Suddenly it started to form eyes that looked like a goat's and the substance continued to expand. It finally took the shape of a misshaped head on top of lopsided shoulders and cackled.

"Heh heh heh... Look, it's the king of thieves. You scum, I've found you now. And in a place like this... Heh heh heh... I'll kill you. I'll kill you with my own two hands, I will." The creature sprouted claw-like hands and shook a fist.

"Slime ogre. How could I have not recognized that putrid odor? Thank everything holy in the world that there aren't that many things in the world that smell like you." Shuichi glared at him. "Kill me, you say? Do you want me to forget that contract we made to spare you? I could kill you right here, right now if you really want to do that."

"What a joke. You kill me? That's a thing of the past now. I have a new ally now." He paused and shifted to the side a bit and sniffed the air. Then he went on, "I think you know him well, too. If you kill me right now it's time for you to kiss your new home goodbye! I dare you! I just dare you unless you want to look like a good boy for everyone." He cackled again but came to an abrupt stop. He jerked around and sniffed the air. "The smell of a human woman... It's so beautiful."

"Go or I'll slaughter you..." He kicked a think pile of dust and hair into the ogre's face as it melted away. He sighed. _If what he said was true, that means there was a witness. There's one way to deal with a situation like that now..._

"Oh my god..." He knew that voice. He turned around and saw Maya standing there, mouth wide open. "That thing! I just came here to get some Doritos and a Poptart and I saw this. It smelled so disgusting and- and..."

_Not good. _"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't want to be so blunt about it but you were probably daydreaming. I wasn't..."

"Oh, you don't have to be embarrassed. I won't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret, okay? But I never knew you were in touch with the Otherworld. I think it's amazing. Say, do you know what could be happening with the missing people? I bet you know..." She started to grin, practically hopping in excitement.

"They're runaways, I bet. I don't know anything really."

"That's kind of boring though. What about aliens or spirits or... I mean, if that thing just now is real then..."

"You should go home. I don't want to have your friends waiting."

The smile faded. "Well, to tell you the truth there's no one here waiting for me. I was happy since we were friends in high school. I wasn't good at making friends then and I still am not. I mean, I was always so jealous because you always had a bunch of friends to talk to at lunch, but I had to sit back alone when you weren't with me. I thought that I would have more friends here since people are more aware of their surroundings but... But most people leave me the second they know that I'm interested in these kinds of things. I'm not as bad as I used to be but..." She sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's not talk about that then. There's other things I can say. Um, do you like watching _Heroes_? Or have you read the _Twilight_ series? I love those books. Have you listened to the new Panic! At the disco CD? Um... You know, you look really good dressed the way you are just like the cops on TV. You are a cop, right?" He nodded. "Well, you wanna go get Starbucks or something? Don't they give you free coffee... Or is it doughnuts? Well, either way, we can still talk over there, right? And if they're not free, I'll pay. I just... Uh..."

_Actually, it's coffee and I think that's only Denny's as far as I know..._ "I really want to but I'm afraid I can't go. I'm waiting for someone. A friend."

"Oh, so you're not on duty? I'm such a dope. You already have a friend? I'm sure you have a lot already. You're a nice guy. But that makes me feel so lonely..."

"Well, it's not that. But listen." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be glad to catch up tomorrow. Let's meet here at four and then we'll go from there. I really am happy to see you again. I missed you most of all. Yes, I had a lot of friends, but most of them didn't really care about me as a person. You know how things were back then. I liked to talk to you because you were actually honest about who you were or what you liked. And I knew that you talked to me because you genuinely cared about what I had to say. Not what I looked like. Really, don't feel bad. If you want any comfort, it's me who should feel bad because I never bothered to reach out to you after we graduated. And for that, I apologize."

"Really? No, that's not..."

Hiei shoved his way in between them though staring at the notepad in his hand. Maya jumped with a squeal of surprise. "That's enough fun-time for you. We have to get going. Who's this person?"

"I'm a friend of Shuichi's from high school. I'm Maya Kitajima. So... You're his friend, right?" she asked once she regained her composure.

Hiei glanced at Shuichi. "Sure."

"So you're investigating the disappearances, right? I see mannequin factory on the notepad. I know a few things about that place..."

"We're not investigating anything. Go away."

"But why would you have stuff about the factory? If you're just normal cops I don't think you would go anywhere near there without reason. And you can't be investigating just like this because some cops have already come around asking about this stuff. Wouldn't that be kind of redundant? Unless you're like in the _X Files_. I know a little more about the missing people that the investigators didn't wanna hear about. I heard someone in my Italian class talking about it since their brother was one of the ones that's gone. I've been in the building a few times to look for ghosts, cause you know what they say, right? About that fire and all the workers died there? I didn't find anything when I was looking for the ghosts, of course. It was too dark, really. I can show you the way there if you want. It's a crack in the wall so it might be hard to find."

Hiei stared at Maya. He glanced at Shuichi and back at Maya. "Fine, but if you cause even the slightest trouble then you're taking your happy ass home. And that means that if you piss me off, then you're walking home."

"Um, okay. You're not mad right now, are you?"

"Ask again and I might be."

"Okay... Well, about your sword. Is that a real one?" She pointed to the part of the hilt that was sticking out behind his back.

"Only if your breasts are."

"What?" She covered herself up. Of course, he didn't comment further on the subject. As they went on their way to the factory, Maya asked, "Hey, are you Russian? I can tell by the accent. What's it like there? I always wanted to go there."

He glared at her. "It's called the Soviet Union, and it's a goddamn hell hol,e but what the hell do you care? Are you planning to go over there any time soon? That's what I thought. Another question like that and I'll throw you out altogether."

"Um, sure..." She leaned to Shuichi. "I thought they went back to being Russia."

"I dunno. I wouldn't ask about that either," Shuichi replied.

When they arrived, Maya was the first one to get out of the car. "Um, I have to go find a rock to keep the door open. We need light as we're going in, and I have no flashlight with me right now. And sometimes the door closes and you have to fight with it to open it up. I think the wood swelled up on the door what with all the moisture in the air." She started walking away. "You should just wait here. I won't be long. Or go in and have one hold the door open."

Shuichi opened the door and threw a rock in. When he heard nothing he turned back to Hiei. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Maya was out of the vicinity. "It sounds like the coast's clear. Let's just start searching since you wanted to get this done fast. I can kind of see in the dark right now..."

Hiei unsheathed his sword. "Now we can take care of this more easily. I probably won't hear the end of this if that girl sees..." He pointed the blade at Shuichi. "That explains your sudden appearance. You were with Eight Hands all along."

"Wait, Eight Hands? He's in town? Is that what this was about? Well, that explains why you up in a place like this. That's quite a stretch going from Russia to the United States, or moreover, the United States in this world. But as a youth, I suppose we've all done stranger things."

"Am I supposed to be scared right now? I know that you have her somewhere."

"Her? I don't know what you're talking about." _Maya sure is taking a while. _Hiei pressed the blade to Shuichi's throat. "I won't hurt you and I know you can't hurt me. I guess it's time to cut the crap and tell you that even in this body, I still won't let you take me down even with a blade at my throat. You think I'm weak, don't you?" Hiei's gaze faltered a bit before a smirk crossed his lips. "You're wrong. I have some of my abilities. I don't want to use them unless you make me. You have business with Eight Hands and so do I. Let's drop this now and get on with it." Hiei shook his head. They heard Maya's scream. Shuichi turned around but he felt the blade on the nape of his neck. "You didn't hear me, did you?"

"I won't until you give me more answers."

"And I wish I could give you the answer you want so we can get over this. If that girl dies, it won't just be the head of Spirit World and the Chief that would be after you."

"You don't scare me and neither do they."

"Well, well, well... Look who we have here..." Shuichi was suddenly aware that Maya's screams stopped and he noticed the presence behind him. They both looked in the direction of the voice and saw the outline of tangled arms. One of the arms smashed a window open.

"So it is you, Eight Hands. What did you do with Maya?" Shuichi growled.

"Maya? Is that- Oh I mean, was that the girl's name? Pleasant for a good meal. One of many beautiful women. They're a delicacy now. Quite hard to come by easily these days, you know. I needed something to get the taste of that slime ogre out of my mouth. Thank you for the sacrifice. Here have the leg. They're the best part on the women. You're not too good to eat it are you?"

He clenched his fists. "They don't just slap you on the wrist for eating humans in this world and you know that."

"I'm in the wrong. Here it is a body thief is preaching to me. What a joke. Wasn't it you who said that it's low for a demon to fall in love with a human or even give them any affection? You've weakened."

Hiei charged but was swatted away like a fly. "And here's another one. This is a real comedy. Am I watching a love triangle here?"

He jumped back to his feet. "That's not why I want you dead. I couldn't care less about that human girl. Did you ever partake in an Ice Maiden?" Hiei asked.

"Maybe. Maybe I didn't. What do you care?"

"No reason. But I still need an answer."

"Oh, I get it now, my Siberian-what's the word, oh right... My Siberian _malchik_. Pry the answer from my cold dead hands..." He smashed another window.

"Bastard!" Hiei went straight for the throat but was swatted away. _Can't sneak up on him. He has an arm for every possible angle that you could close in on._ He watched Kurama try to close in on him but with the same amount of success he had. _Dammit. She was right about the guns then but what good did she think she was doing by giving us them if she knew...? When the hell are we going to need that anyway? On something like this, it's be like shooting a stump. I'm not a good enough with one to be able to blow off his knee caps. Even then he could still fight us off._

"Hiei. You really had me fooled that you wanted Eight hands dead," Shuichi whispered to him as he got to his feet.

"Oh, fuck you."

"We're not all out of options."

"What do mean by that...?"

_Can you hear me? _He saw Hiei indicate that he did. _Good. I'm glad I found someone that could. I have an idea that could distract him enough..._

"Are you saying your prayers?" He swung his hand so his nails punctured Hiei's stomach. Hiei sliced the hand off leaving only the wrist. Eighthands pulled back, screeching in pain. "I have seven more of those anyway." He swatted Shuichi away before he could get a hit in. He looked up and saw Hiei lunging toward him. "I see you! You're a real nuisance!" He smashed his face to pieces. At that moment his head was sliced from the back of his neck and Shuichi sliced him in half from the torso down. "What the hell...?" _Wait... His body wasn't bleeding. Why didn't I notice that?_ "So you were more clever than I thought... I'll answer your questions... I never harmed the human girl. And I never ate an Ice Maiden. I would never eat anything so beautiful and if I did, you would have been the ones on the ground."

Shuichi sighed. The two walked out and saw Maya was left laying behind the building. She woke up just when Shuichi was kneeling before her. "Oh hey... I got some really great pictures today. Just before I left I took a picture of you and your friend. It wasn't a good one since you were both turned around. I have one picture left." She held it up with shaky hands and took a picture. "There's you. I don't think your friend can be seen well. It was so amazing today. I can't wait until we get that coffee."

"Maya. It's about time for you to wake up. The alarm's ringing."

"Really? I'm dreaming. Well, silly dream Shuichi my alarm doesn't ring- it plays the radio." She sniffed the air. "I don't wanna wake up. This dream's great. And it smells so sweet." She dozed off.

Shuichi turned to Hiei. "You said no one should know about these situations. It's Dream Flower pollen to erase memories." _But she'll also forget her feelings too. And what a shame... I really did want to catch up with her... She was the only one worth seeing again.  
_

"Only if you think it's necessary..." Hiei replied. He held out his hand. "Just shake my damn hand. The name's Hiei Zamyatin. That's what my name is on the records here. You already knew that but I have a feeling you won't stop bothering me about introductions until I do it your way."

Shuichi hesitated. "I'll call you Hiei if you call me Kurama." He shook his hand. "You look really pale. Well, more pale than normal."

"Yeah. I feel..." He sat against the wall. "Goddammit... He got me good..." He passed out.

-:-:-

Maya stood outside the nearest Costco after her pictures had finished developing. "Great! I get to see my... Wait, I don't remember these. It feels familiar. Where have I seen this guy?"

And the conversation nearby- "Hey, did you hear? People aren't going missing anymore. Weird, right?"

Maya put it in her textbook as a marker. To contemplate on the picture of the man who looked like her high school friend...

**/And there was none.**

Notes:

** I know I put Minamono. I did that purposely and it has nothing to do with the dub. (Right, SHUichi MinaMINO) I've never watched Tela Tequila nor have I read Twilight. But I do love Panic! At the Disco.****  
**Thanks for reading.  
-Much love, JC

(edit: Malchik refers to a young boy.)


	3. Shockwave

**Doubt  
**_Random beginning note: Come to think of it, what's the point of the underline button if professionally we don't use it?  
_

Chapter 3: Shockwave

_"Oh, you're back from your journey. I was worried for a while that you wouldn't come back. You've been gone so long but at least you're here in time. Now we can be there for each other when the girls come. You look sad. Did I say something wrong?"_

_"No it's... I have a secret to tell you. I know you're really good with secrets."_

_"Okay. But what other secrets can you have? We already talked about all the embarrassing birthmarks and your opinion of almost everyone here. And some of the things you've seen them do when you looked at them the wrong time..." Her voice stopped sounding bubbly. "You really look sad. H-how bad was it?"_

_"I didn't journey around here. I left this place all together. And... I was with a man."_

_"What? No. You can't be serious. Oh no..." Her curiosity was suddenly piqued. "So what did it feel like? Being with a man? Is it as painful and scary as they tell us it is?"_

_"I can't really describe it. It is like they say but it isn't. It's one of those thing that you... Oh, never mind that. But that's why, Rui." There was a long tense silence._

_"Hey, let's go on a journey together. We both know the child's a boy. We could get rid of him before anyone would he's there. I've heard they do such things below us. You could just say it was a miscarriage. It's not unheard of. I know someone that had three. She's a sickly person, and I know that she worries a bit too much. We could just tell everyone that you were so nervous about having your first baby that you lost it. I know it's horrible but... I can't stand the thought of the alternative."_

_"I can't. How can you be sure that it's his?"_

_"But you said yourself that you were with a man. And we both know that means you'll be having a boy."_

_"Yes, but I could have already been pregnant when it happened. They say when you're with a man before we begin we'll have a male. But they never say what happens when you're already pregnant. Besides, you can never tell when you start. There's no way to tell the exact day- only when they start showing. If it is his, though, and you're right about it, I'll take the blame. I'm sure they'll let me leave. I just couldn't stay here knowing I just let a baby die like that. It's cruel to just throw someone away without giving them a chance."_

_"But you know she won't, Hina! You know she can't make an exception. She said she's seen this happen so many times and she can't tolerate it happening again. But I can't stand the sight of you having to give up your first child like that! And I can't stand the thought of you having to live on being known only as the whore of the village. Just being used as an example of why no one should leave. I can't. Can't we just stop this before it begins. I have a needle right now. I was going to mend the sleeve of my dress so I brought it. I'll just stab his heart and we won't have to see that happen."_

_There was another silence. "Fine." She bit her lower lip to muffle the sound of her squeak of pain. The needle pierced deeper and just before it went to the heart... "No! Don't!"_

-:-:-

Hiei's eyes opened and he sat up in bed. He glanced at the clock but noticed that the alarm clock wasn't his, nor was the desk or the dresser, or hell, even the bed. He was in a room he didn't recognize, slight paranoia crept up his spine as he sat up. His sword was resting on the desk. He reached for it, unsheathed it when he heard some footsteps going towards the bedroom.

"Oh, so you're up now," Kurama said as he walked into the room. He stared at the blade in Hiei's hand apathetically. "That's awfully trusting of you. I had to check on you several times to make sure you weren't really awake like I thought you were. You were talking in your sleep, well, yelling to be frank... About someone named Yukina. If you don't mind me asking, who is she?"

"It doesn't matter. Where am I?" He lowered the blade but didn't put it back in its sheath.

"At my apartment. I had to take Maya back home, and then after that, I had to bring you here. I don't know where you live."

"What, you don't think we've been introduced if I don't tell you that either?" Kurama rolled his eyes. There was a moment of silence. "Which apartment are we in?" Kurama told him. "What floor? ...We live a floor above you."

"We?"

"Mukuro and I. We live together, and it's been that way for years. Don't get any ideas. She taught me English so I have to be indebted to her and she sees no reason for anything to change."

"I see." Long silence. "So who is Yukina?"

"She had a nice smile." He tucked the sword into his belt and started walking out. "Ten o' clock!"

Kurama glanced at the clock. _It's only an hour away. _But he couldn't say he was particularly surprised. Or disappointed._  
_

-:-:-

"So you are Youko Kurama. Why didn't you just say so instead of dancing around like no one's supposed to know? I wouldn't have really done anything to you if you had. Well, not me anyway. But I've seen a lot more crimes go on so I just overlook body thieves really. I don't think anyone would really be disturbed- that's just the nature of this place," Mukuro said. "So what is it that you do again? Control plants or something? I hear everything but the important details. Kind of like that game they have the grade-schoolers play the telephone game."

"Well, basically that's one thing I can do. I also specialize in breaking spells and incantations and making illusions, as all youko are. Things of that nature," Kurama replied. "But I am much better with my plants than those."

"By the way, did you finish the job yesterday?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's fast for Hiei. He normally doesn't finish anything like that in one day unless someone's pushing him to hurry up or if there's something in it for him. Or if it interests him in any other way. Well, even with those three he still takes at least three days, and I give him the easy ones. Then again, he usually has to play third wheel these days. We lucked out when you showed up, though, since I can't stress that enough, apparently. In case you didn't realize it, he doesn't work well with other people, let alone two others. Not since he was working with me, anyway. Though, if you want to be in on a secret, he still took his sweet time in getting things done when he was with me. Not as bad, but bad nonetheless."

"By the way, I had him at my apartment after the mission. He passed out, blood loss. In his sleep, he said something about a girl named Yukina. Do you know happen who she is?"

"I know as much as you do. Could be his mother, a sister, cousin, maybe even a dead lover. He talks in his sleep a lot- when he actually lets himself sleep, that is- and sometimes I ask him about that, but he always cusses me out for it, so I don't really bother digging deeper since he's always aware of that."

_Meaning what? _"So about that letter of recommendation... I meant to ask about that but I never got the chance to."

"Well, first of all there's something you should know about this place. I'm sure it's of no surprise to you especially you can see what we really are but... Everyone here is a demon. I'm actually not supposed to tell anyone, that but no one's complained yet. Kind of a Spirit World law no one pays attention to. (And everyone also gets on me for any other small offenses I commit, so as long as we haven't met for the first time.) No one's supposed to reveal they're a demon here unless... Well, I won't go in the specifics, but I'm sure you have some idea of what that means. Some of us are here on our own free will- Hiei is actually one of those, believe it or not. Some of us here-well, most of us really-are here because we were caught by some of the Spirit World lackeys for doing something like eating humans or doing any sort of harm to them. There's a guideline regarding what it takes to bring someone here, but it's in a book as thick as a Stephen King novel, and I don't happen to enjoy sitting down and reading the same thing for five hours straight. Basically, just think of it as you were caught doing something you'd be sent to one of these departments as some sort of community service."

"So you're saying the letter of recommendation is..."

"Sent by Spirit World. Or something like that. They think they're funny. When they send something they use nonsense addresses like '1337 Elm Street' or '555 Mulholland Drive' and names like Freddy Crougar or Jason Bourne. It's rather annoying really. They either already knew you were here as a human or someone in touch with them reported them." She paused. "And I know most people here would point out the fact that being a body thief is a heavy crime. And I know you know that. Even though it's not torture on the human serving as a host, it's still a surprise that they haven't forced you out of this body. I don't know if it's that strenuous or if they're starting to be apathetic towards this."

"It was my only option at the time. If they do force me out of this body, then all that would be left is an empty shell. Or does it count if my soul merged with the still-forming soul of the child still in the womb?"

"Hard to call. Of course, that brings up the ever controversial topic of a child's rights while being in the womb. I have my opinions and you have yours, so let's not dispute that."

"By the way, what are you in for? You don't seem like the person who would be willing to take this job."

"Well, I came here from what you know as Canada in this world. There's a name for it but it got changed several times. I went from place to place until I ended up here a little before World War I. (I think the year was 1910.) I went from state to state until I joined the FBI in the '70's. I ended up here five years ago, and that was because of some little problem between some smart ass who can't keep it in his pants... Well, let's not go into that. It's not something you tell someone you just met or your coworker. I had met Hiei about four or five years before that in a bus station in New Jersey. I took him back with me to California since he said that he needed to get somewhere. We kind of stuck together because he wanted help with his English. And after the incident that landed me here, he decided to come here, too, and we were partners, at least until last year. And the rest... Is history. That's enough of my book."

Hiei walked in and went straight for the book shelf. "Why the hell do you keep rearranging the damn books?"

"I don't do anything. You move it one way one day and then move it another the next."

He rolled his eyes and started picking books off the shelf. The door was kicked open and two men walked in one after the other. The shorter of the two was about at the other's shoulders took the earphone from his pointed right ear (Spock ears, most people called them) and dropped a clipboard onto the desk. Kurama stared at him and then at the other man. He was older, old enough to be the shorter one's father, with six pointed ears and his eyes were apparently sewn shut. In the hairline above his foreheard were two curled horns, part of a row which circled the whole of the crown of his head. Kurama knew that face, having stared at it for a while. It's been years.

The younger one asked, "Hey, Mulder. We're gonna need to borrow Scully for a while."

"It's the other way around. Mulder was the man," Mukuro replied. She busied herself with her paperwork.

"Exactly." Hiei threw a book at him but missed. "He's due for his test. Remember?"

"I don't need the test. I thought we established that," Hiei said. "I don't need any rehabilitation."

"Yeah, hearing voices is perfectly normal." Hiei's face turned slightly red. "Hey, don't hate us. We're just trying to fix you. Without these tests, then you'll continue to be unfit to live in this world with all the freedom you have. And you're already here, so you know what they'll do if we don't continue this therapy? You'll get sent back and if they catch you here again, then it's all over." He looked at Kurama and Kurama looked into his pink eyes. They were the same as his. Damn, this really is his son. "Nerve of this woman. We try to help her stay here and she basically tells us, 'Fuck you.'" The taller one kicked him in the heel but he didn't react. "Who are you? I don't think I've seen you before."

Kurama glanced at the taller one who was turned toward him. _This still doesn't add up at all. _"My name is Minamino Shuichi."

"Oh. Well... My name is... Eh, just call me Shura. I have another name but I used the name somewhere as a joke and it stuck on me. And this guy's my dad. Just call him Yomi. I hate our last name. Everyone thinks of something called _Heroes_ when I mention it." He picked up the clipboard and started thumbing through the papers. "I need you to fill out this questionnaire for me... Dammit, I don't have it. We'll have to..."

"He's a good one," Mukuro interrupted him.

"Can you say that for sure?" Yomi asked.

"Forget it. I'll go. If I have no other choice..." Hiei shoved a book into a random shelf. "Or you're gonna put me under hypnosis anyway and make me say what you want to hear. I don't know what makes you so sure I'm unstable."

"We know that you are, Hiei. We know the wars you've been in..." Mukuro sighed loud enough to draw attention to herself. She shook her head at Yomi, but he still went on, "You can't deny treatment any longer. We have some papers that will tell you we're certified."

"Then fix her," Hiei said and pointed a finger at Mukuro. "She needs it, too. Shit. Treatment. My ass."

"Well, okay, if you say so. " Shura took his hand out of his pocket and punched Hiei's rear. Everyone turned and looked at his hand. Shura, who was making a face like he wanted to gag, muttered, "Why can't girls ever have to do this?" Hiei started to slump against the bookshelf, cussing the two out in slurring Russian. When Yomi turned to his son, Shura said, "Well, last time I tried giving him the oral booty juice he wouldn't take it so I have to give him the normal kind. You know we wouldn't get him with us if I didn't do it this way."

"Don't call it that," Yomi hissed.

"Brilliant work, I suppose. I'd appreciate it more if you didn't get that one from your so-called father. Call him what you want but he really isn't," Mukuro sighed and she walked out of the room.

"You bitch." Shura snatched the clipboard away and dodged his father's punishing kick. "Tch. She's only disappointed because she has to take a break from the only guy that would stick it in her." He yelled, "Whore!" This time Yomi landed a good punch in his son's gut. After scolding Shura about his language, Yomi took Hiei by the arm and dragged him out the door. He paused a moment and nodded in Kurama's direction before proceeding.

She didn't turn around. She just stopped, clenching her firsts. She struggled with the can of instant coffee before giving up. She raised a hand to her forehead and groaned. Yomi and Shura walked out with Hiei as a teenage boy with slicked back black hair and dirty looking clothes walked in with a Starbucks coffee in hand. He stared as they left and said under his breath, "Yeah, that's not..." He walked up to Mukuro.

"Hey, someone told me to get this for you. They told me you were a coffee addict," he said and held the coffee to her. "Not sure what for but they told me it's time we meet so... Yeah. You're 'The Chief,' right?"

"I guess..." she mumbled back.

"The name's Yusuke Urameshi. I think you know me. Or you should by now. Most people around here do."

"Mukuro." She took the coffee. "I probably do. Know you. I just can't remember right now."

"Hey, if you're sick, you should probably take it easy doing... Whatever you do." At that point Kurama was standing next to him, nodding.

"It's nothing. I get migraines. Really bad migraines."

"...What, is there a time when a migraine isn't bad?"

"Heh." Actually it sounded more like a soft choke. "So is this some kind of peace sign?"

"I guess." He made the live-well-and-prosper gesture, stopped and glanced at it to make sure it was the right sign. He dropped his hand "But hell, I dunno. They just told me to come here. You sure you'll be alright? Cause if you don't you can puke on the guy next to me, he looks like he'd make a good doctor." Yusuke got no answer. "I kinda gotta get going then. I'll see you later... I guess...?" He shrugged and walked out, though stopping once to look over his shoulder.

A tall demon, probably one of the biggest men Kurama had ever seen, walked to Mukuro, reached to his chest. He had a pile grey hair messily dangling to frame what little could be seen of his masked face. ("It looks like old vomit on a dead fern," Hiei once mumbled to himself.) He glanced at Kurama and the back at the woman. "What's going on here?"

"Migraine. Nothing to worry about, Kirin," Mukuro replied.

"You've been getting a lot of those since you came here. Are you sure there's nothing going on?"

"Positive and it's still nothing for you to concern yourself with. I always tell you that. Is there some ulterior motive behind all this?"

"What? No! Really, stop implying that." He held out a hand as though he was going to touch her but thought better of it. "Go sit down somewhere. I'll get this taken care of for you."

Mukuro shook her head and turned to Kurama. "You can go home. Or do the filing. Whichever. I don't care."

"I'll take the latter. I always have Tylenol with me in case..." Kurama paused.

"No, I just never finished drinking my coffee this morning. If I don't do that, then I get a migraine. Tylenol never does anything for me anyway." She turned back to Kirin. "You need to go back to what you were doing. I don't need you hovering over my shoulder every time I get the slightest headache." She went back to her office.

"I wish she would trust... I just have that feeling that..." He paused, knowing he was thinking aloud, and turned to Kurama. "Oh you're the new one? Minamino, is it?"

"Yeah."

"Kirin. Juarez in this world. I basically fill in when the Chief is out. I think you'll get to know me better around the week of December twenty-first."

"Twenty-first? Why? Does she vacation around Christmas?"

"Well, no. It's the week of her birthday. Or if she does show up, I suggest you take care of business with her before or you might... _Regret_ it to say the least."

"Okay..."

Kirin nodded and walked away.

_Her birthday? I wonder why..._

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:  
****It just made sense that Hina and Rui (Hiei's mom**'s** friend) to be the first to know. Actually, it was never said that neither knew to begin with...  
How did Kurama know where Maya lives? (Um, try ID?!) Come to think of it, why does it seem like everyone in here walks everywhere? (I wouldn't trust Hiei driving. In fact, I think I implied that he doesn't have a license... So who drives?) If you don't know 1337, I think you haven't spent enough time in places like gaia's GD. 555 means Hahahha in Thailand. And the streets are both from movies. (Nightmare on Elm Street and Mulholland Drive.) Mulder and Scully are from the X-Files. Mukuro IS NOT PSYCHIC. (True Blood reference for the win.) Kirin is Mukuro's little fanboy, lol. But in all seriousness, he's Mukuro's second in command before he was replaced by Hiei. It's implied in the manga he didn't hold that post that long since the one before Kirin was killed when he gave Mukuro "a little lip" on her birthday. (Mukuro: Serious business.) I don't think Mukuro's birthday is in December but I used the date in Ride like the Wind so it kind of stuck.**  
Much love, JC.


	4. The Drawing

**Doubt  
**_Random beginning note: Who uses the word hooligan anymore anyway? Just like "Don't be cross." And I have Persona 4 music stuck in my head. I like Wednesdays. I wish it were a Wednesday._

Chapter 4: The Drawing

There was a knock at Mukuro's office door. After a moment, a small woman in her mid seventies walked in. They both exchanged a smile. Mukuro shut down the computer and turned to the older woman, excusing herself for a moment to get her coffee pot. When she returned, the older woman was sitting in a chair pulled next to the desk.

"It's been a while since we got to talk, Master Genkai. Been what, almost a year?" Mukuro said as she poured some coffee into her cup. She offered the pot to Genkai but she turned it down.

"For you that's nothing, you know that?" Genkai replied with a smile.

"Yes, but for humans, it's like dog years, isn't it? You've been busy lately, have you?"

"Not quite. I've just finished working with my apprentice." The smile faded quickly. "He was a pain in the ass to work with but I know he has potential."

"Is he someone I know?"

"The name is Yusuke Urameshi. I doubt you have met him. He seemed too much like he had to be put up to come to the tournament. He needs a good kick in the ass. Can't tell you the amount of times I had to smack him so he would do what I tell him. One day his dumb ass is going to figure it out and realize it was necessary. Or I hope so."

"Urameshi? I have met him before. And now that you mention it, I did get a strange vibe from him. If I had noticed it before, I probably could have been able to open that up..."

"You really need to stop doing that. You already have Spirit World's eyes on you as it is, and this isn't a risk you would want to take." She sighed when Mukuro shrugged.

"By the way, have you noticed the strange miasma in the air? Then there's been these demonic insects. Lately..."

"Has there been anything happening in Demon World lately? Someone must be causing someone to react enough to send insects in this world."

"Well, East and West Germany have split Europe in two and are getting ready to turn around and go after each other. There's been a lot of tension between those two, so I've heard anyway. It's been confirmed that they both have nuclear weapons, but that's pretty much the standard for any country if they want to look like they can hold a good defense. And the United States' economy is continuing to drop. I'm surprised that they haven't gone into a full depression. If they did, then they would be screwed. Over there, they're really dependent on foreign goods, as reluctant as they are to trade with anyone. That's all I've heard. It's really nothing new. At least, the people in this world are tame. They commit heinous crimes but they still don't compare to the demons. Though really, we should think about the time frames. I'm sure that with time, humans would be just as bad. But then again, who's to say..." Mukuro looked down at her cup and cocked a brow when she saw it was empty. She stood up. "By the way, I'm making more coffee. Are you sure you don't want any?"

"Positive." Slight pause. "You should watch your caffeine intake."

"Why?"

-:-:-

There was a loud beep from the loudspeaker. "Mr. Iwamoto?"

He paused, in the middle of the lecture. "Yes?" No answer. He sighed irritably before repeating himself, "Yes!"

"Hi, Iwamoto, this is Dorris again. Could you send Yu-Yu... Yu-su-ke Uram-se-shi-" Someone in the class groaned at the horrible mispronunciation of the name. "-to the office please? There's someone here to see him."

"Of course." Iwamoto shook his head. "Urameshi! Urameshi!" He scanned the room and frowned. "Oh, he's not here, is he?"

"I saw him this morning," a girl replied. "He was here in art, too. Or did he get kicked out for drawing those weird pictures again? Or was he picked up for detention? Well, I can't remember, but he's here... But not here."

"I'll go get him. If he's in detention, I'll go in and tell him. The speakers don't work in that room," Keiko stood up. "I'll need a note, too." She was obviously not up for the task but she knew from experience that no one else would take it unless they were actually called out by the teacher. Besides that, she was the only one that seemed to break into the brick walls that was Yusuke Urameshi's skull. Knowing a guy since you were barely out of the womb must do that, she figured.

"Of course, Yukimura. I'll have the notes ready for you when you come back. And get that hooligan to stop causing trouble." Iwamoto handed her the note with a smile and Keiko felt a slight chill in her spine. "You are a good influence on him, if I say so myself. But you can't bring a rotten apple back to health, can you?"

_Sure, if that's what you want to call it..._ Keiko sighed at the thought. _If that were true, then he wouldn't be getting in detention, and he wouldn't have been a trouble maker at this point. But I know that's not what he's doing._ And there he was, just as she thought, sitting behind the library, cigarette in his mouth.

"Yusuke Urameshi! Of course, skipping and smoking. You've got some nerve smoking in school. We're still sophomores and you're..." She paused and looked around to make sure there was no security guard to hear her. Looked like the coast was clear. She turned back to him, lowering her voice just in case. "How many times do I have to tell you to...?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." He flicked the ashes and the tip of the cigarette and grinned. "You're on time as usual, too. I should change my usual spot. Or have you apply for security. Doofuses never catch me."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the cigarette, putting out the butt on the library wall. "Iwamoto sent me to tell you that someone's waiting for you up front. I'll just tell Iwamoto that you immediately went to go see them. Don't make me a liar."

"I won't. Sheesh."

"I don't even know why I keep covering for you like I am. You're two years away from graduating. That is, if you're even going to make an effort and TRY to pass."

"Well, that's awful cheery. How do you know that I don't like to ask if you want fries with your meal? I guess, I'll make you true to your word and go. By the way, you want fries with that order or something low fat? Your face has been looking more than a little chubby lately." Yusuke jumped to his feet, dogding her slap. He ran towards the attendance office at the front of the main building. The last thing he heard from Keiko was an agitated sigh. When Yusuke made it to the front of the school, he stopped, nearly mid-step, his cheery mood blown to bits. He knew that blue hair anywhere. "Aw, crap. What do you want, Botan?"

"Why so glum, chum?" she asked with a grin that made Yusuke want to go home and brush his teeth. "Aren't you glad to see me?"

"Keep smiling like that and I'll get diabetes. And every time I see you it's got something to do with demon stuff. As if Rando wasn't bad enough."

She shrugged, "Someone's gotta do it."

"Yeah, well, why just me then? Just cause I got jammed in between heaven and hell? There's gotta be more to it than that. I mean, do I have some kind of weird special power waiting to be discovered or something? I can't believe that I'm the only damn person around here that was caught in that position and had to be brought back to life or that I'm the only person in this whole damn country that has these powers. Look at Genkai. Make her do it, shit."

"I dunno myself. I'm just a lowly grim reaper-slash-assistant... But I came here because I have to give you this phone so we can keep in touch. I was told to keep an eye out for strange things. I noticed this strange aura in the air. I'm sure the ones at the Lovecraft Department already know about this. Gah! I just remembered that I meant to pay Reed a visit... I always forget to... I'm such a dope when it comes to those things..."

"Wait, Lovecraft...?"

"You met the Chief the other day. When I had you give her coffee. Come to think of it... The last one wouldn't function without donuts and this one can't function without coffee... Must be a pattern..."

"Yeah, but Lovecraft? Isn't that the guy who made Cthulu? Who the hell picked that name?"

Cthulu? "Um, sure... But you remember her, don't you?"

"Yeah, basically. So what did you want me to do right now? Are we going over there?"

"No. I just wanted to make sure you keep an eye out for anything suspicious that could lead into another case for you. I'll contact you when-" Yusuke started walking off campus. Botan ran after him, "Hey, where are you going?"

"I know if we don't you'll send me back to class and then Keiko's gonna do the Renee Zelwegger scrunched up face routine and say, 'Yusuke, go back to class!' And then I'll have to deal with security and... I'd rather deal with that British girl than go through all that. At least she won't nag me if I'm not in class or have crappy grades. Besides that, I think it's time you talk to your people again." Noting Botan's slightly off the wall British accent.

"She's not British, she's Canadian. And I'm pretty sure she would ask you why you're not in class. She's a cop, remember?"

"Same difference! Everybody knows that Canadians are failed British people. And if that's the case then I have a few important questions." And with that he walked away with Botan hoping from the bottom of her heart that he wasn't going to ask her about milk coming in bags. Or the bacon... Or maple syrup for that matter. Oh, or...

They arrived at the station by bus twenty minutes later and Yusuke burst right into the chief's office. (Though Botan smacked him on the back of the head for that.) Mukuro looked up at them and nodded, indicating for them to take the two seats in front of the desk.

"Oh, it's you. You were the one with the coffee. Yusuke Urameshi," she greeted them when they came in. "But... shouldn't you be in class right now?" She waved a finger at him. "Can't undermine the use of a quality education if you're the future of America, you know."

"Man, most people don't remember my name that fast," he replied, trying to change the subject. "I remember you. You're Mukuro."

"I have good memory. Of course, when you know twenty different languages, you kind of have to. But really, why aren't you in class?"

"It was a holiday."

"...You're lying."

Long silence. Yusuke scratched the back of his head. "Hey, so is it true that in Canada milk comes in bags?" Botan smacked him on the back of the head. "What? It's a genuine question."

"They do, as a matter of fact. You know how cereal comes in bags here? They sell the milk like that."

"And maple syrup? I bet that's like gold there."

"Only if oranges are in Florida. And for the record, I think Canadian bacon is better than..."

"Reed!" Botan slammed her hands on the table, toppling over a pile of papers.

"One, it's Reeve, like Christopher Reeve. Not Reed like the couple who testified against each other. Two, you need to pick those up." She stared at the book shelf absentmindedly. "Anyway, I know why you came here. We've got several people on possession or what we though was possession. They didn't react to prayers or any of the exorcist rituals. Once they continued to attempt to attack the exorcist we had to knock them out with a tranquilizer, that was all we could do at that point. It really just freezes the host's body but it helps if the victim can't be held down much longer. Well, when they were unconscious some type of demonic insect left their body. We've been clear of those for years with the Kekkai barrier up. They typically get incinerated just as they go through it. Even if those things over time did find a way in they wouldn't be able to become parasitic. And I mean parasitic in the sense that they have total control over the host's body, not in the sense that they drain the host's body over time- though when it comes down to it, it really does drain the human. Physically and psychologically, since that's the nature of the possession. Most would only think they're mosquitoes since they don't cause much harm, and those are the ones that can see them. Most humans don't have the awareness that you have, Urameshi, therefore most aren't aware of the insects flying around the city.

"I've gotten reports from the nurses and psychiatrists from various hospitals and they told me that some of their patients were sedated and once the drug wore off most of the patients showed no sign of ever being mentally ill. I have the file right here if you want to take a look at it." She uncovered a manilla folder from under the pile of toppled papers and held it out to Yusuke, who took it. He started to flip through the pages as Mukuro went on, "Their initial diagnosis for those patients were typically along the lines psychosis but now they aren't sure what to believe. There were few members of the staff who reported seeing insects leave the patients' bodies after they had been sedated. Of course, I'm sure you can guess what the rest of the staff had to say about all that. Kind of causes a vicious circle. If you're trying to find a pattern, there isn't much of one. Sure there's a lot of people in there who were dealing with financial troubles and the like, but there's also a few that don't really have that problem. Yet..."

"So somehow these bugs found a way to make people psycho. How're we supposed to deal with that?" Yusuke asked, cocking a brow. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm not a massive bug exterminator."

"To state the obvious, someone's sending them here to distract us so they can do whatever they're planning to do. So what really needs to be done is stopping whoever sent them."

"Oh that's so detailed. Write a novel about it. You'll sell more than Stephanie Meyer."

"If I went on about all the people I know that could do this or any type of demon out there that can be behind this, I'd be going on until tomorrow. You might be surprised by the amount of people on the Otherside who would want to take over this world. Personally, I'm not. But I'm who I am..."

"Wait. I think I remember something a while back. Wasn't there an agreement between the Spirit World and where in Demon World? Maze Castle I think..." Botan paused to think about it. She put the last of the papers back on the desk and her brows knitted together in thought. "I think two hundred years ago or something like that? I think they're in this area, roughly."

"I think I know what you're talking about but I don't know the details, actually. I really should but I don't. I didn't pay much attention to details back then. It wasn't until I was in the FBI that I actually did," Mukuro replied.

"That's right, I kind of remember now... They used to push us for years that they wanted to come into this world and have it as part of their domain. Of course, we objected. If we do that, all wars in Demon World will be a war here and seeing how technologically advanced they are, they could just wipe out all of human life here altogether. Maybe anything other than a cockroach. Somehow I doubt that means anything to them..." Her face blanched a bit when she realized she was speaking to a demon.

Mukuro shrugged. "Yeah. Well, that is if opening up a tunnel big enough for anyone to march right in won't kill everyone first. I've heard humans can't breathe in our air. I can't say for sure. Obviously, I never had the chance to bring a human back, nor has one really had the joy of crossing over as far as I know."

"Hey, wait, if I have to take care of stuff like this, then why are you guys here?" Yusuke broke in to the conversation.

"...You have to pay delinquents like us for something, right?" Mukuro replied. She paused as if considering whether to say more. "By the way... Have you heard of the Butterfly effect?"

"The movie? I hated it."

"Not the movie. It's part of the Chaos Theory, I'm sure you haven't heard of it. It's one of those higher forms of physics that I'm sure they don't teach you in high school. And even if they did, I'm sure you missed out on it, too." Yusuke chuckled nervously in response. "The idea is that even the small wings of a butterfly can influence the atmosphere just enough to move a tornado or hurricane just off its course possibly saving thousands of lives, or killing them depending on how you look at it. But that last bit about death aside... Isn't that just the most encouraging thing you've ever heard? Even something we take for granted and underestimate so much can do something that great."

"Okay, so what's with the movie then?"

"Kill a butterfly today and you'll affect the hurricanes and how many people could die later on. That and if you change the past, you'll change the future. That's why I never understood these Go back in time and change the past from something horrible to something better scenarios. If you go back to change it, wouldn't whatever was changed already have happened? But I guess that's why they invented odd loops and I'm my own father scenarios to go with it."

"Oh, like going back in time to stop Hitler only to take over and become Hitler?"

"I guess..."

"About the case... What about the ones infected by the insects?" Botan asked.

"Until I know who sent them, I can't say much. I've still got people patrolling the streets in the case that someone else gets infected and goes out of control. That's all I can do right now. I'll have everyone take more action if something even more serious would happen. I can't send every force just on something that isn't causing extreme damage. At the first sign of a moderate threat you'll be sent to the source, Urameshi. I know Koenma didn't put you in the position you're in for nothing and just by looking at you, I know you've got potential. I trust you won't do anything stupid."

"Gee, you sure have a lot of faith in me..." Yusuke mumbled. "And what'll you do then? Just take care of the easy part, waiting at home?"

"I might send someone to go with you, if the source looks like it'll be too much for you to handle alone. It'll be hard to call as to how to determine if you need help..."

"Meaning you'll just walk out of this office and grab the nearest people and send them?" No comment. Yusuke sighed and stared at the bookshelf just as Mukuro glanced at it again. "What, you need someone to get that organized? How it that arranged by first name or..." He made an abrupt stop and he dropped to his knees.

"Yusuke?" Botan held him up before his forehead hit the desk. "Yusuke? What's going on?"

Mukuro shook him a bit. "Hey." Yusuke groaned, indicating that he recovered. "Sorry. The air in here must be getting too tense. In any case... We've finished our business unless you want to stay here for coffee." She looked into her cup which was nearly empty. "But it's probably time you head home. Your mother would be worried if her son didn't come home right after school."

"Not much of a coffee guy actually..." he mumbled. He got back to his feet with Botan's help. "What the hell was that...? It was like someone was thumbing through my head. Like all my memories and thoughts... It's creepy. It better not be one of those bugs, I'd be pissed. I'd be off the hook, but I'd still be pissed."

"No, you would see the thing enter your body. It goes in through the host's mouth or their ears. Those with a sixth sense would see it going towards them. Like I said, it's just the air." With that, Mukuro left the room with Botan following. "What, did you want coffee too?"

"I know what you did just now. Why do you insist on just digging into people's minds like that? You know the strain it puts on the person's body when you do that? And on a human, too! You could have blown up his head!" Botan growled.

"I could have, yes. I could have. Assuming that this was a poorly thought out B rated film, I would have, but that's not how such things work, Botan," Mukuro replied. "I just wanted to research something. And it's not something I can just ask anyone either. And besides that... I just wanted to see if I can find what I'm looking for."

"And what's that?" Silence. Botan shook her head. "Just don't do it to everyone you meet. You know if you cause permanent damage, they would..."

"I know. Isn't it terrible? For me, anyway. But then again, they've been trying the find the perfect excuse to get rid of me. I guess all I am is a ticking bomb. I could be a second from detonation for all they know. But aren't we all... Just minutes from midnight... And... Minamino, what day is it?"

Kurama looked up from the file cabinet. "Um... Isn't it Friday? Why?"

"I like Wednesdays. I wish it were a Wednesday.." She smirked. "What were going on about, Botan?"

"Ugh, never mind. Just make sure you take care of this as well as you can..." Botan walked away. _She's so hard to talk to. Or maybe she's just got her mind all over the place. But if she really didn't have anything to say, I wish she would just go on and say it. ...This is why dealing with demons creeps me out._

**/And there was none.**_  
_

**Notes:  
****I thought I could have gotten around going into Genkai's Tournament but... And then I've come to realize it's a pain in the ass to write the next part when the guys don't really know each other. Damn it.****  
****I miss poor Iwamoto. But he reminds me of Mr. Morooka in Persona 4... Vice versa actually. And I don't know why I used the name Dorris for the person on the intercom. I hear the name a lot. Because everyone makes fun of the poor woman. But it's an inside joke really. Same with the scrunched up face thing... Well, if you don't watch Family Guy anyway.  
****I met someone from Canada at Anime Expo, the creator of Vampirates! (The webcomic, mind you.) But I'm pretty sure it was her that said that milk really comes in bags. No joke. And a teacher told me about the bacon... I just wanted to have her be Canadian because you don't hear too much about Canadians in general. (You know, I was thinking about making Hiei French? How many tough guys do you see on TV that are French? Though Mukuro is a French Canadian.)****  
**Much love, JC.


	5. Splinter

**Doubt  
**_Random beginning note: I'd love my hometown too, if I lived in Monterrey... I mention this college CSUMB a lot. Well, there's kind of a reason... There's a lot of empty buildings and it looks creepy. So from what I've heard about it, it'd be the perfect place to have a ghost story. So far I haven't done one of those yet... Not really._

Chapter 5: Splinter

"Could you tell... Yu-su-ke Ura-meh-she to come to the main office? There's someone there waiting for him. She says that it's an emergency."

The whole class turned around to the back of the room where Yusuke was sitting, head face down in his crossed arms. Iwamoto sighed and tapped on his desk. He sat up, awakened from a pleasant sleep. He yawned and swiped the string of spittle that had been dripping off his chin. "What? I was paying attention. Ask me a question on what we were talking about and I'll tell you."

"You have someone waiting for you," Iwamoto growled between gritting teeth. "I'd also like for you to ask them to quit interrupting my class."

"Hey, just be glad that I get to leave class. Must be my lucky week... Or something." He walked up to the front of the room and happily took the hall pass. Iwamoto rolled his eyes as he watched Yusuke walk out of the room.

"I hope none of you get poisoned by him. For the most part you are all good kids. Except you, Keiko. I know that you're immune to his garbage... Anyway..." Iwamoto turned back to the whiteboard. He heard someone whisper in the classroom, "What a teacher's pet..." He threw the class a stern look before turning around again. "As I was saying..."

-.-.-

Yusuke continued rushing through the halls until he reached the front of the school. He walked into the attendance office and sitting in the chair next to the door was Botan, reading the latest issue of Seventeen magazine and curling one of the wisps of hair around a finger. She folded the magazine up and stood up with a grin on her face. She waved at the woman behind the counter and took Yusuke by the arm, practically dragging him out with her without so much as a greeting. "Crap. Not again. Well, actually, I should have known, but still..."

"Yes again. Don't think we'll just let you off the hook just because you don't want to anything today. We've hit an emergency situation," Botan replied as she waved the magazine under Yusuke's nose.

"Do you mean it for real this time or is it just something to keep me on my toes? Come on, don't act like all you Spirit World people act like everything's an emergency. Koenma could have a hangnail and you'll come over and tell me that it's a code red, Jesus." Botan frowned at him. "Okay, forget I asked, sheesh. But after all those times you pulled me out of class? Actually the pulling me out of class part wasn't so bad but..."

"We've confirmed it. It is Maze Castle trying to take over the Human World. We've contacted Reed-REEVE, I mean..." She looked around as if she suspected Mukuro would appear out of the bushes and attack her for mispronouncing her name. "...at the Lovecraft Department, and she said she'll bring in back up for you and keep defense in the case that this whole thing takes a turn for the worse. That's all she can do for now. She says the chances of you coming out of this alive are twenty-two to twenty... Apparently."

"Okay, how'd she get the numbers?"

"...Very carefully...?"

"Yeah, that's cheery. And why do I always end up with all the emergency cases where if I fail everyone gets blown up? I mean, what was the last one I did... Oh, yeah, catch this demon that sucks out people's souls because he could potentially take the whole country hostage... Oooh..." He wiggled his fingers around like a ghost.

"You're meant to do the heavy duty work while all these department-station-y (whatever the correct word is) take care of the smaller cases. Or at least I'm pretty sure that's how it works. That's kind of why we never had you meet them even when they like to meet the Spirit Detectives." Yusuke cocked a brow. "Well, we were afraid to introduce you since you know how demons get when they meet you. Or at least I'm pretty sure you get how it is. To be honest you two both really work separately. I have the feeling you're going to be getting to know each other a lot better now."

"But... hold up, you mean there were others?" Yusuke asked.

"I don't know. I never really met anyone but there should have been more. But enough of this, we have to hurry up and find a way to Demon World before things get any worse. There's been more reports of people getting possessed and there's only so much that I can do. Once the city gets overrun by possessions, then that's the point when the demons of Maze Castle would make their move."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Someone ran to the two, mouth agape and eyes wide. It was a pale teen with reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was tall in height (a little more than a head taller than Yusuke) and large by muscle mass, carrying hims long limbs with the grace of a black bear. "So I follow you guys when I came out of the bathroom and this is what I hear? What the hell is going on now?"

"Dammit, Kuwabara, go away." Yusuke shook a fist at him.

Kuwabara disregarded that comment. His eyes fell on Botan and he grinned, puffed out his chest a little. "Oh, and it's that pretty girl from before..." He shifted in to a straighter stance. "You you been doing, babe?"

"Um... Good, thanks for asking...?" Botan replied, cocking a brow.

"Don't try to sweet talk your way into this one. Go away." Yusuke shoved Kuwabara's shoulder.

"...Man, Urameshi, I wasn't calling you pretty. What's wrong with you?" He shoved the other teen back.

"Oh shut it and go." Yet another shove.

"Hey, didn't you remember what happened at Genkai's tournament? I wasn't just sitting around and waiting. I was actually experimenting with my power and I figured out how to use my Spirit Sword without borrowing power like I did there. And if the world's going overboard then that means our hometown's going with it. I'm not gonna take this without a good fight. I'm coming with you... Wherever you're going. I don't care." Kuwabara- the man loves his hometown. Yusuke couldn't help but picture Fourth of July fireworks explode over his head, complete with an Uncle Sam figure standing next to him giving a thumbs up.

"Well, the more the merrier, I guess..." Botan said. "Though, I suppose in this case Yusuke does need all the help he needs."

"Please. You're just saying that because he said you're hot," Yusuke said.

"ANYWAY... We have to be leaving now if we're gonna get this done right. And you better come, too, Kuwabara. You don't make a speech like that and turn on it like that."

"...Except if you're the governor or something."

"Ugh..."

"So what're we doing right now then? There can't just be some random portal laying around here, can there?" Yusuke asked.

"Funny that you should say that. There actually is one. We found it on accident. There are several ways to get into this world from theirs. I guess you can call it something like a worm hole but I don't know a good way to explain it. I haven't asked Lord Koenma; I'm kind of scared to. I asked the Chief about it a few times and well... Don't ask her about it. She gave me this perfect estimate on the distances and then a long formula to go with it. She said something about how the two dimensions are meant to be separate but humans or demons forced them to overlap. Obviously, in this case it was demons, and it often is, to tell you the truth. You see, a lot of times if there's a way clawed into the human world, then it can end up in weird places. Same vice versa. Or something like that. That was the only part I understood. We really need to hurry. Who knows how long we'll have until this problem gets any worse..." As they left, an ambulance was pulling into the school to assist a freshman who had been stabbed by the junior class president.

They arrived at the college CSUMB and walked into the nearest abandoned building. Botan stopped to make sure the security weren't around and tried to push the door open. It wouldn't budge. She slammed her whole weight in it, but she barely put a dent in it. She turned to the two boys, who took the challenge and succeeded after a few tries. They walked in, stepped over some bits of broken glass and empty beer cans. Botan scanned the ground, feeling out the ground with her feet.

"Yeah, I know this sounds like it's too convenient to come here but... Some partiers came in here and started drinking. A couple had disappeared from the group without a trace. The Lovecraft Department did an investigation of the area, and they just said they ended up in the Demon Realm. That was the end of that apparently. That was a few months ago, so it looks like the school's security caught the open door. Of course, they missed what was really important," Botan explained. She stopped and touched the ground when she found a piece of plywood on the ground. "See that board on the floor here? Apparently, that's where the portal is." She pushed the piece of wood over slightly, revealing a hole filled with a strange light. "I don't know where it'll take you from here though. We can't and won't check."

"Can't and won't? Can't you get those Lovecraft guys to fix it up?" Yusuke asked. "They shouldn't be afraid of their own place."

"They're demons and they hate humans. You think they'll give something like this a second thought?"

"I dunno.. I met this girl from that place once and she seemed like a nice person. Can't say the same about the guy she was hanging out with but..." Kuwabara replied. He shrugged. "I can't think that they're all bad."

"But you know, even with the Chief who acts nice... It just seems so wrong like she's forced to be the way she is or something. I dunno. The people over there... There's something off about them all, don't you think? You seem to have some experience with them so I'm sure you..." Kuwabara shook his head. "...Anyway, if they were to completely plug up this hole, they'd need Lord Koenma's permission and some help from his special forces. It's a lot of trouble, and I'm sure it's too much of an effort over a small hole that'll be reopened quickly." Botan sighed. "I'm being a little too dark, aren't I?" No comment from either side. "...I'll take that as a yes. And Yusuke, you have that phone I gave you?"

"Yeah." He reached in his pocket and took it out, waving it in her face.

"That's great!" She kicked the board off the rest hole with a smile. "Be careful, now. I you shouldn't have much trouble with this case."

"What you're not coming?" Yusuke looked suspicious.

"No. I can only use white magic-healing and stuff like that. I would only get in your way, especially if anyone tries to attack me. All I have to defend myself with is an oar and a basic knowledge of karate. But... I'll keep you informed." She pushed him in the hole. "Tally-ho!"

Kuwabara rushed to the hole before Botan even touched him and jumped in with a weak, "Ciao...?"

-.-.-

Yusuke landed on the intertwining branches of a tree. "Okay, note to self: Do not let Botan take me anywhere near any random worm holes in the ground." He started climbing down the tree, taking every move with care until Kuwabara crashed downward, nearly knocking Yusuke over in the process.

"I really wish she gave us more of a warning..." Kuwabara grumbled as he got to his feet. He looked up at the black hole in the sky. "Sheesh! How did they get out to the Human World from down here. Are these guys grasshoppers or something?"

Once Yusuke got to the ground he said, "I know it's kind of late to ask now but... You sure you still want to do this? You might not get off with just a few broken bones this time.."

"Kinda late? We're already here! And how bad could they be? They can't be that spooky now that we've powered up. Okay, maybe they'll be a little tough, but we have some stuff up our..." He paused when he saw demons that looked like old storybook imps or goblins crowding around them, grinning and some drooling. The two pulled back and readied themselves to fight back.

_"Look, humans and they smell so..."_

_"Fragrant... Heh heh... Fragrant humans..."_

_"I bet there flesh tastes as good as they smell..."_

"Back off!" Kuwabara shoved one away but then four latched onto him, baring fangs. "Augh! Get off me!"

Yusuke came to Kuwabara's aid and punched the goblins off. Some more piled on them just as quickly as they pushed them off. "I did NOT come all the way here to be dog-piled by a bunch of demons..." _I didn't think I'd already need my Spirit Gun. But I might have to use it... _He positioned his finger, thumb straight up and index finger left uncurled, making an L shape. Just as he was about to fire his Spirit Gun in between struggling with keeping the goblins at bay, there were three gunshots and two goblins fell, groaning in pain and clutching their wounds. The others stepped back and cowered together. One of the wounded ones pointed a crooked finger at one of the tree branches.

_"It was them! But... Can you feel the power coming off them...?_"

All of the goblins gasped melodramatically. "_No! Working with humans or not, I'm not coming near them! Run away!_" Of course the last statement appeared to be more like a figure of speech as none of the other goblins moved a muscle, frozen by fear. When one finally got the nerve to move, he only did so to bow down to the two figures who jumped down from the trees. The other goblins followed suit and started to even mumble out complements in between threats (which they quickly took back).

"Don't mind the goblins, you two. They look frightening but they're actually cowards. Actually, that they even tried to kill you on their own is an accomplishment," Kurama said with a half-smile. "And it looks like we came at the right time." He put his gun back in its holster.

"Hey, I remember you guys. I saw you last week... But I remember you," Yusuke pointed at Hiei, "were passed out on some guy. Freaky stuff."

"I was sedated. What do you think I'd do?" Hiei replied with a groan.

"Oh, I think I know who you are, too," Kuwabara added. "You were always with some girl and it was like you were attached at the hip or something. Well, make that leg for you or something. Where is she anyway?"

"...She got promoted."

"What? She got promoted and you didn't? How does that work?"

"What's it matter?" Long silence.

"This is awkward... Uh, I guess..." Yusuke scratched his head in thought, "Well, I'm Yusuke Urameshi, and this guy here's Kuwabara."

"Kurama. A pleasure." They all paused waiting for Hiei.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'm Hiei Heirichovich. Let's just shut up and get this done." He walked away and the other three followed.

"Man, you walk fast. And I thought short people couldn't move fast," Kuwabara said as he ran to try and keep up with him. "What are you in such a hurry for?"

"This is the way I always walk. Are you sure it's not just that you walk really slow?"

"Ugh... And one more thing I've always wanted to ask you, though. Why're your eyes red? Doesn't anyone see that they're a funny color like that?"

"Well, fuck you. I hate my goddamn eyes. And you already know the answer to that question. If you can see them, then you should know."

"About that... I'll give you the explanation I heard a while back. It was news to me, actually, but then again.. Apparently when demons have traits that would set them apart from humans, they appear only as humans to anyone without spiritual awareness-or 'sixth sense' as everyone calls it. So in this case, his eyes would appear as some sort of brown, I'm sure. And the reason behind that is... I guess these two places are different universes so whatever comes from this universe may not be compatible with the human dimension. Because of that, humans live unaware of what's leaking into their world for the most part..." Kurama paused. " Or so I've been told. I don't know how it works for demons, honestly."

"That sounds really made up," Kuwabara replied. "I mean, what if someone has a horn or something and the person who can't see bumps into it? Do they feel it?"

"...You know, I really don't know." They heard a beeping and Yusuke searched his pockets for Botan's phone only to find out the source was Hiei. Once Hiei hung up, Yusuke asked, "What happened?"

"She said we have twelve hours... And that we shouldn't scream 'Fire' in a movie theater." Hiei grumbled something in his native tongue.

"That's too much time. But I guess it's nice to know your girl believes in you."

"It's not like that at all." He rolled his eyes.

"I see how she looks at you. She's definitely got the hots for you. But then again, if you lean on guys like then she has some major competition."

"And you only talked for five minutes, and I wasn't really there when you came."

"...This is gonna be a fun twelve hours. This'll beat school by a long shot."

"Don't make me kill you." They continued to walk to the castle in silence. They walked into the entry hall, which was composed of grey bricks. Just as they were approaching the end of the hall, a bat-like creature flew over their heads. When it turned towards them it revealed it was an eyeball with bat winds and tentacles hanging at the bottom of the eye serving as arms and legs. It cackled ominously.

"Hey look. It must be one of the Demon King things." Kuwabara pointed at it. "Let's get it."

Kurama stopped him and replied coolly, "It's nothing to worry about. The demon's we're supposed to face are more powerful than that. It's a messenger at best."

The creature cackled. "I guess you can call me a messenger. I have nothing to say to you really. Rather, you'll be the ones talking. That is, if none of you fail."

"Fail what? The only fail I see is you," Yusuke said.

"...Yusuke, that was the worst come back I've ever heard. You fail at failing and that's not a double negative," Hiei replied.

"I'd like to see you do better, Spaceman!"

"What did I tell you?" The creature floated towards a lever. "Well, without further ado, I welcome you to The Gate of Betrayal."

"What, is this a bad fantasy novel?" Yusuke replied.

The creature cackled again and pulled the lever. Then the ceiling dropped but stopped short of smashing them all. They were all forced to squat (though Kuwabara had to kneel since he was so much taller). "The Gate of Betrayal. It's a beauty, isn't it? It's able to hold at a weight proportional to the weight of those below it for a certain amount of time. It took us years to make this work and the labor was worth it. And as for the name, we made it so that only one person can escape leaving his friends to be crushed shortly after he does- therefore he must betray his team. Oh, and for those of you who think they're so pure of heart and try and use team work, that won't work. You'll all be dead at the same time. What an accomplishment. Now hurry and decide, time's running out..."

"Oh, shut up." Yusuke growled. "Damn it... How're we supposed to get through this..." He looked around. "Hiei! You're a demon, right? So you have special powers like special speed, right?"

"I can run over there if that's what you're asking," Hiei replied. "But it won't work. I know the second I leave you you'll all get killed and I won't hear the end of that one."

"It'll be okay. I can use some of my Spirit Energy to take up the weight you're holding. Just hurry and do it, we can't hold this damn thing forever."

"Right." Hiei disappeared and reappeared in front of the lever. He was about to pull it but then the demon fluttered above his head.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Go through all this trouble to save these people you barely even know? For all you know, you might end up hating them all. After all, every good you do is unnoticed and doesn't really matter... And besides, whatever consequences that might come from this won't matter. You don't have to deal with that. You'll have a good place here..."

"...You think so...?" Hiei glanced at the other three.

"Hiei, if you do what he tells you, your girlfriend'll never let you hear the end of this and you'll never get laid again," Yusuke said. They were all kneeling at this point, sweat dripping down their faces.

Hiei put his hand in his pocket. "That's fine actually."

"Good choi-" The demon was stopped. He saw Hiei take a pistol out of his pocket. "What, you want to shut one up?"

"No. My aim is too bad to do that right. But on the other hand..." Hiei shot it in the center of its pupil. "One in four chances aren't so bad. And that's a bull's-eye there." He pulled the lever. "And tell your masters I'll take their offer once... Aw, fuck it."

Yusuke crawled out first and laid on his back. "Augh... My arms... My legs... My back..." He rolled onto his stomach. "You had me freaked out for a second there, man. But I guess that comment got you inspired."

He rolled his eyes. "As motivated as a person gets when they slit a goat's throat."

"Goddamn! I didn't think you were into that kind of stuff. I hope we don't end up stuck together like in a hotel or something. I might not see you the same way again."

"Don't over think this gesture either. I only did this because I had to not because I wanted to. I told you already that I wouldn't hear the end of it if I let you all die, and I bet it'd be even worse if I get my partner killed after he just started, too." Hiei rolled his eyes and started to walk away. He turned around. "Well, go on. We don't have all day."

"...I'm sure that means you're welcome," Kurama said to Yusuke. "We barely know each other but..." He shrugged.

"Man, Germans sure are crazy," Kuwabara mumbled.

"He's not German. He's from Russia. Or the Soviet Union."

"What, he can't get with the times or something?" Long silence. They heard Kuwabara grunting. "Hey, guys, I need some help. I think I'm stuck..."

**/And there was none.  
****Notes:****  
****I don't know why Yusuke called Hiei a Spaceman.  
****Botan turned all dark. WHY? This is really hard to write when these guys don't know each other... ****  
****Much love, JC.**

**(edit: I removed the bit about Hiei's being from Georgia just to simplify things. The original was making it harder than it needed to be. He's also introducing himself using name and patronymic, a name taken from his father's name. It's a formal way of doing so.)  
**


	6. Double Sided

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Note: Is it me or does Mukuro seem like Integra... But I might be the only one getting that reference.  
__The fight scenes were more fun to write as I listened to Linkin Park for some reason.  
_

Chapter 6 Double Sided

"So anyone know anything about what we're up against?" Yusuke asked once they proceeded down the next corridor. "I'm not gonna keep going if we don't know anything. And Botan really didn't fill me in, but I'm pretty sure she's racist against demons though."

"Yeah and she's a stupid bimbo. She doesn't matter," Hiei replied.

"I'd doubt it if she even knew. These guys are actually kind of obscure," Kurama said. "The Four Saint Beasts- Genbu, Byakko, Seiryu and Suzaku. They're known as being extremely powerful demons though most of that power is political. But even with that they're still pretty intimidating. Every year they keep gaining more and more power. In fact, I believe the American government has been paying them a fair amount of money to keep their hands out of any wars since they want it all to be their kill. And another thing, they don't look at all human. I want to make sure you were ready for that at least. I personally have never seen them but I've heard about them in the street but we all know how accurate those are."

"Hey, Hiei. Looks like you've been demoted. But at least you're still getting laid." Yusuke chuckled at that to which Hiei rolled his eyes. "Okay, anyway... So you know anything else about these guys like any special abilities?"

"I think I know a bit about Byakko's abilities but not much else. I know he has a special ability linked to his roar that could potentially rip you apart down to the molecular level... But I don't know the exact parameters of that. Going off what I know from mythology... Genbu is a tortoise, though sometimes also depicted as a snake having sex with a turtle, which I highly doubt is the case here. Byakko is a white tiger. Seiryu is a dragon, and Suzaku is a bird. What we can assume is that Genbu would most likely have the best defenses while Seiryu would have the most power. I think Suzaku might be the real ring leader in this case, though." They stopped when they entered a large, dark room, lit only by the occasional torch on the wall. Kurama stopped the other three from proceeding further. He looked around. "It's too easy. After that last trial... I know you're in here. Show yourself."

Yusuke took a torch from the wall and threw it across the room. It hit a large object with a loud thud that echoed. Then, the room was shaken with a thunderous laughter. The torch showed the object shifting, and then they started to make out what could be a toe. As their eyes went from the foot, they saw wide legs over which curled a large round abdomen like a tortoise shell. The legs bent further and revealed the creature's face, wide and bumpy like an eroded statue. The mouth opened, and the expression shifted slightly with the sound of scraping stones together into one of amusement. Kuwabara froze in fear. _"As if those goblin things weren't bad enough..._" He swallowed a large lump in his throat.

"I see that you favor Byakko and Seiryu a little too much... I am Genbu. The only way out is through that door to the next floor over there. You can go, that is... If you can defeat me." Genbu cackled again. He came further into the light, shaking the room with his ear splitting steps of rock slamming against rock. He waved a long tail around before raising it as a scorpion does when readying for battle.

"No problem." Yusuke cracked his knuckles. "I bet I can take you easy. Let's see how you hold up after..."

"No. I'll take care of this one Yusuke. It's no use using all of our energy right now. It's best if we take them one at a time until we need to have someone step in to help..." Kurama stepped forward. He stopped and turned with a half smile. "You can trust me, Yusuke."

"What, you thought I didn't?"

"Kind of hard to earn someone's trust when you've just met them, don't you think?"

"I think that Gate of Betrayal was all the trust games that we need for a million years."

"So I've heard from the goblins that there was a man traveling in this group that goes by the name 'Kurama.' They tell me they think it's infamous Youko Kurama trapped in a human body. You? What can you do in a human body?" Genbu cackled again. "This is too easy. I could smash you with one finger and be done with you."

"I'm sure. But thanks for the warning." He ran a hand through his hair. _No, I shouldn't use it yet. Unless I can figure out how to..._ He noticed Genbu's tail was sinking into the ground. _What is he...?_ He twisted around and saw Genbu's tail coming right at him, pointed tip turning in the air in a drill-like motion. Kurama leapt out of the way, but Genbu swung his tail tail around to throw him across the room. Kurama leaped over it grazing his stomach on the stone. He knelt on the floor, gritting his teeth in pain. He quickly inspected the cut. It was like a deep scrape across his stomach, not deep enough to cause very serious damage, but it was enough to leak blood all over his shirt. _It really looks like it's time. I wouldn't need it? What was I thinking? _

"You're much faster than I thought. That's a complement for a human. That is if that's what you decided to be." Genbu slowly sank into the floor, becoming one with the stone of the floor. "But even your speed won't help you now... I could be anywhere now... Under your friends..." Kuwabara flinched and Hiei simply spat on the floor. "Under your feet... Maybe in front of you..."

"Yes... That's pretty intimidating." Kurama took a rose from his hair and stared at it thoughtfully. "I really don't know what to do..." He sounded too disinterested to sound remotely sincere. _I haven't done this in a while..._ He swung his arm and within the blink of an eye, the red petals were scattered around the room and the stem of the rose extended into a whip, roughly three-fourths the length of Kurama's body..

"Wait. What the...? How can he keep a rose in his hair like that? Wouldn't that hurt when he's asleep...?" Kuwabara turned to Hiei who shrugged. "But seriously... Dare I say it...? Well, it's already kind of girly as it is... some serious... I mean, serious..."

"Just spit it out already, shit!" Yusuke replied.

"...Flower power."

"Only a guy who loves kittens would say something like that." Hiei stared at Kuwabara at that moment and discreetly slid a bit away from him.

Kurama took a deep breath. "I know..." He did an about face and swung his Rose whip just as Genbu jumped out of the wall. "I've got you now!." With a few swings of his whip he managed to slice through Genbu, leaving him in pieces.

The demon looked at him in shock. "But how...?"

"When I made the Rosewhip, the scent of roses filled the room, but since you were still in the stone I was still able to find your stench. As for slicing through you... These thorns can cut through solid stone with ease. Of course, if you truly did know anything about Youko Kurama, you would have been aware of the risks, wouldn't you? You are finished, Genbu."

"That's brilliant. But you didn't get away from all those hunters for nothing. Well except for that one twenty four years ago. What a crappy way to go. But too bad for you..." Genbu put the pieces of himself together. "It's really just a moment's inconvenience. Actually you just gave me a new ability... Just watch..." He split the pieces and shot them at Kurama, who barely had enough time to cover himself before his vital points were injured.

"Dammit! If he can do that, then what the hell can he do?" Yusuke said.

"No. He's got a plan forming in his head. He's always trying to find one," Hiei said coolly. _He really did have a point about him being able to escape so many times. And Genbu doesn't seem like he's panic worthy actually. Besides that, he is Youko Kurama. Someone like this one should be nothing in comparison.  
_

Kurama sliced Genbu into even smaller pieces so he appeared to be composed of nothing but pebbles. Genbu cackled again, "What did I tell you the first time? Every time you cut me smaller I just get an even greater advantage. You might as well give me a hundred shotguns."

He threw himself at Kurama again. He saw in the corner of his eye a large stone that was glowing red shoot past him. He reached out to grab it but the pebbles he grabbed sliced almost right through his fingers. _Damn. If I could get that then I could probably finish this off. This isn't good if I keep letting myself take all these hits. _He felt the small gashes throughout his arms and legs throbbing and the blood rolling down his legs. _Once more...  
_

Genbu threw himself at Kurama again. He reached out with one hand to grab the stone and with his other arm he shielded his eyes. He closed his fist around the first thing that hit his palm. When Genbu was putting himself together again, Kurama saw the red stone in his hand, pulsing. _This is his heart. That's the end of that._ He chuckled when he saw what became of the Saint Beast.

"What's so funny? Did you go insane from fright? ...And how did you get on the ceiling?" Genbu asked.

"Look up. Or-well... Down for you."

"What do you...?" He moved an arm but toppled onto the floor. He then saw that it was a leg and an arm misplaced. He rolled himself onto his stomach and saw that his tail was where his head should have been, which meant that his head was where his tail was supposed to be. ("Man, it'll be weird for him to pee..." Kuwabara mumbled.)

Kurama held up the stone. "So this is your heart, right? And you need it to put yourself together. Well, Humpty Dumpty, this is something your horses and men can't put together."

"No! Don't!"

"Sayanara." He broke the stone in half with his Rose whip. Just when Genbu became dust, he dropped to his knees, clutching his wound in his stomach. He looked around the room for some other form of dirt. There was none. _Looks like I'll have to deal until I reach soil._

"Hey, are you alright! That looks like it hurts!" Kuwabara asked him, offering to help him to his feet.

"Does he look alright?" Hiei asked sarcastically. "But wait, of course, getting sliced up feels like walking in through a nice little with flowers and those weird animals with the weird eyes."

"Shut up, half pint! ...And that's sheep you're thinking of. Or I'm pretty sure that's what you're talking about."

"I'm alright. I just got a few nasty cuts but it looks worse than it hurts. I can still walk," Kurama replied, standing up and brushing some of Genbu's dust off himself. Then there was a beeping sound. Hiei took his phone out of his pocket and made an inaudible sigh of relief. Yusuke knew then it was his.

"What?" Yusuke asked.

"Well, that's a polite greeting," Botan said. "Anyway, Yusuke, it seems like we took this whole thing too seriously."

"Oh, big surprise there!"

"_And_ by that, I mean how fast this is happening. This whole parasite thing's been proceeding pretty slowly. Plus the Chief's got it taken care of with some guys patrolling the streets so she kind of can catch some people before they cause too much damage. And she did say she sent a pair to help you out. Was she true to her word? And are they giving you any trouble? You need me to file a complaint cause I can if they are."

Yusuke glanced at the two demons. "Yeah... I'm pretty sure they're just as concerned about this whole thing as you are in Spirit World, FYI. But apparently she told her man-" (Hiei grumbled a curse in his native tongue.) "-that we have twelve hours. We have eleven left, I think. I wasn't keeping track."

"What? Oh whatever. She can't get a good night's sleep without making a math problem out of stuff. I don't think you need that much time though. Though, if anything you should be focusing on getting things done as fast as possible."

"Hey, what're we supposed to do anyway? You were really vague about that. Just kick all of their asses and walk out?"

"No, you don't need to worry about that. I just found out that the way they control those insects is by a whistle. One of the Saint Beasts plays a tune on the whistle and it somehow influences them to do their bidding. I don't know who that could be but... Don't worry about how things are here. Just focus on getting that whistle ASAP."

"Sure." Yusuke put the phone in his pocket. "So who would play the whistle?"

"Well, from what I know from Chinese culture (which isn't that much to tell you the truth) the most powerful would have to be Seiryu. Apparently the dragon is the most favorable of them all. Or something like that. So I would assume that it would be him. Or maybe Suzaku, assuming that I was right when I said he was the leader," Kurama replied.

Hiei shrugged. "Don't know much except who was the last one that Stalin tried to invade and later ally with."

"Uh... What?" Yusuke gave him a blank look. "Dude, seriously, what kind of Russia are you living i-" There was a thunderous roar so loud that parts of the ceiling and the wall began to crack. "Crap! Let's get out of here before the damn place caves in!" _So that might be Byakko if he's a tiger._

They rushed up the stairs until they reached a narrow bridge. At the end of it was what looked like a stairway to a tower, the top of which stood a large humanoid white tiger with green stripes and a green main serving as his human-like hair. He was dressed in what looked like a small robe made of some sort of leopard or cheetah's skin. He stopped roaring for a moment and looked down at them with a grin, baring all of his yellowed fangs, some large enough to put a saber toothed cat to shame. They heard the rumbling from his throat, shaking the bridge so slightly.

"So it's the humans... The lowly goblins were crying about you all. They said you were accompanied by someone who could be Youko Kurama, reborn as a human and another demon..." Byakko roared again shaking the towers again. Kuwabara became more worried about the floor they were standing on crumbling into pieces, causing them all to fall to their deaths. "So it's true. You traitors. Human lovers. You and all your little friends that sunk so low into helping those humans. I've heard of playing with your food but that's sad. Well, you're no match for me. Genbu was nothing into comparison to the rest of us."

"...I'll take him," Kuwabara said as he stepped forward. He swallowed another lump in his throat.

"You freaked out at the sight of the first guy," Yusuke replied. "And every second we do something you start looking like you're about to wet yourself."

"Who asked you? I wasn't ready, okay? I never saw a weird looking demon like that before but now I've got experience now."

"So why're your legs shaking?"

"I'm anxious to shine! Leave me alone." Kuwabara turned around and ran down the bridge towards Byakko.

"Ha! You're just taking me one at a time. Is this your plan? To make me die laughing? I can kill you with the hairs on my head." He plucked out a few hairs, blew on them, and dropped them. After they sat on the ground for a few seconds, the hairs became four bulky green beasts that looked like a cross between a sort of insect and a bear.

_Crap! Just when I thought he was being sarcastic!_ He created his Spirit Sword. The beasts were not intimidated, and they all lunged forward with their five inch razor sharp claws. One started to attack another to claim its food.

"Dammit! Five seconds and he's already..." Yusuke started to cross the bridge.

"Don't do it, Urameshi." Kuwabara growled as he flung another beast away with a swing of his sword. "I've got it under..." Then it hit him. _Just go down the bridge and then they'll all have to go a straight line. Then I could extend the sword and... yeah! Yeah! _"...Control!" He ran across the bridge.

"Yes, run back to your friends. Run back and then they'll all be ripped to shreds with you." Byakko laughed. His glee came to an abrupt stop when he saw Kuwabara turn around a few feet from the end of the bridge. He turned his Spirit Sword towards the beasts and brought it to the level of their mouths. Just as they lined up, Kuwabara extended the length of his sword so it went through each of the beasts from mouth and out of their rears.

"Eat this, Byakko. I just created the Monster-beast-demon-centipede." Kuwabara stood back and took in his creation, watching as the beasts stood in confusion, trying to pull themselves out, but only ripping the point of impalement much larger, ripping their own flesh and innards.

"Clever move... But they're still hungry!" Byakko roared again and the beasts glowed again. They continued chasing after Kuwabara (though their movement was still rather awkward, still doing each of them more damage) growling like angry dogs.

"Oh cr-" Kuwabara continued running across the bridge. He passed the other four and ran around the round opening they recently came out of. ("You think he knows it's a circle?" Hiei mumbled to himself smugly.) Kuwabara grinned when he saw the other end of his Spirit Sword on one of the beasts. He grabbed onto it and struggled to link the two sides together.

"Ha! Take that. Monster beast doughnut!" Kuwabara laughed at his own wit.

"Okay, now, you're just trying to act like you're selling on TV," Hiei said. "Would it kill you not to be a complete moron for five minutes?"

"Hey, I think monster beast doughnut's a great name," Kurama replied.

"You got any with sprinkles for that?" Yusuke added.

Byakko was not amused. He growled and the beasts turned to dust. "It looks like I'm going to have to tear you apart myself. So you've outwitted my beasts but they can't think logically. All they think about is food. But not me."

"Is that so? Well, then come and get over here, pussy cat!" Kuwabara formed another spirit sword as Byakko jumped down to meet him in the middle of the bridge. _Holy...! This guy is freaking _huge_! But that's alright. He's bigger so he's easier to hit, right? Just a few nice cuts and then we'll be one step closer to that flute thingy. Yeah!_ He lunged to make the first blow right across Byakko's large stomach. He pulled the blade across the tiger's round stomach. He stepped around and swung his spirit sword like a baseball bat.

"...His swordsmanship is horrible. I'm getting disgusted just watching him..." Hiei sighed and rubbed a temple with irritation.

"Hey, he's getting some good hits. You gotta give him that. Seriously no one's even giving anyone points on how well they can fight. And it's 2008, no one's a pirate or a ninja... Or whatever it is that Russians can be," Yusuke replied.

"He is getting all the hits... But why is it that Kuwabara's the one that's getting tired?" Kurama asked. "And why isn't Byakko bleeding even a little... Is it...?" His brows knitted together as he inspected Byakko.

Kuwabara paused. _Hey, he's right. And... Is it me... Or did this guy get even bigger? I better not be going nuts... _He stood straight up and dodged a blow from Byakko, trying to locate even the slightest hint of a cut on the demon._  
_

"...I got it. Kuwabara, your sword."

"What?" He glanced at it. "What the...? It's like a dagger now." He stared at his shrunken Spirit Sword with dismay for a moment.

"He's been absorbing all your energy this whole time."

"Well, the secret's out! So how are you planning to defeat me now? How about you just make it easy on yourself and give up now? I won't hurt you if you do..." Byakko laughed. Looking at him now, Kuwabara saw that he has grown to double his size, most of it lingering in the gut which was growing bloated.

"No! And not just a no, it's a heck NO! I'm not giving up. Not now." Kuwabara powered up his sword again and shoved it right into the tiger's mouth, continuing to surge the energy until he felt there was no more left in him. "And if it's energy you want then you can have as much as you want." He continued until he collapsed from exhaustion.

Byakko's stomach had grown so round that it looked like it was stretched to full capacity, stretching even the furs he was wearing and tearing them at the seams. He laughed again, feeling triumph. "Now I'll smash you to a pulp for a snack later on..." He lifted his leg to stomp on him but he felt immense pressure on his stomach. He felt his skin stretching farther and farther until his stomach explode, sending him flying away from the energy released as a gas.

"Heh... Just like my sister said. Don't eat too much or your stomach'll pop! Or something like that." Kuwabara gained the strength to stand up. He took a deep breath.

"Well, your sister's a psycho so she doesn't count," Yusuke said jokingly.

"Shut up, Urameshi! Now..." He took another deep breath. "I just have to breathe in the fumes and then..."

"Well, actually you don't need to breath in the fumes..." Kurama said.

"Whatever, Hiei!"

"But I'm not..."

Then the wall of the tower broke open. Byakko crawled out, clutching his stomach, his claws starting to turn red with blood. "No. I'm not done with you. Come with me to my playroom. I call it... The Devil's Playground..."

"Okay, now, it's really starting to feel like a really bad fantasy novel..." Yusuke sighed and they followed Byakko into a room. It was like the inside of a cave with a pit of lava and platforms scattered throughout the room. Byakko leapt six platforms away from them, shaking the entire room when a made his landing on four legs. He turned around and got back on his hind legs. "Now let's see how you'll do now! And I'm not going to go easy on you this time..."

Kuwabara jumped on a platform. "No problem. I can beat you twice in a row." He called up his spirit sword again.

Byakko started gagging. "Oh that's right, I'm a cat. Let me show you my version of a hairball." He coughed up a ball of energy which crackled with the sound of static electicity.

"Time to hit a homer..." Kuwabara positioned himself to swing at it.

"No, Kuwabara! Jump!" Kurama cried.

"Okay... Why?" he jumped away and just when the ball made contact with the platform it exploded into millions of pieces. "Man!"

"This was exactly what I was saying before. This is what kind of attack would destroy you completely."

"I see... So you aren't so stupid after all. Well just keep jumping around and you might actually have a chance." Byakko coughed up more of the balls. Eventually Kuwabara was left with nowhere to go. "Don't worry about that. You only have to jump about twenty five meters to get to the closest one now. This is the end."

"Damn it! Kuwabara's no Olympic champion!" Yusuke growled. "Any of you guys can get him out of there before he gets his ass blown up?" He made his voice get lower, "You think my Spirit Gun'd get absorbed if I...?"

"Yeah, next thing I know you'll be claiming my possessions in case I die..." Kuwabara shrugged. _This is my only chance to get out of this. And it's crazy enough to work._ He lunged off the platform and fell just short of the nearest platform.

"Too bad... He was actually a pretty good opponent... How will take me-" Kuwabara appeared before him and knocked him off the platform. He clawed at the air before Kuwabara smacked him in the nose. Just as he was accepting his fall, he saw Kuwabara's spirit sword in the lava. _He used it as a pole vault! That's so..._ He fell into the lava.

"Kuwabara... No..." Yusuke stared at the platform. "No... Stupid..."

"Why are you crying? He's just hanging off the edge of the platform by the collar of his shirt. Unless you want him to die," Hiei said. He pointed to said platform.

Yusuke squinted and saw Kuwabara there staring at the impending doom beneath him. "Oh. That's pretty... Kuwabara, you bastard! I'm gonna get you for making me act all sentimental just now!"

"...That's fine! Just... Just get me up! I'm gonna pee!" Kuwabara screamed. He reached for the edge of the platform awkwardly with one hand. "Hurry up! I think I'm gonna fall!"

**/And there was none.  
****Notes: Byakko: My hairballs. Lemme show u dem****  
****Much love, JC.**


	7. Songs in the Dark

**Doubt**  
_Random Beginning Notes: ...If you think about it... Being second is worse than being third._

Chapter 7: Songs in the Dark

"Okay, so which way are we gonna go now?" Yusuke asked as he stared at the seven doors in front of them with dismay. He shook his head. "Actually does it make a difference? We have plenty of time anyway."

"Well, it doesn't matter if you want to die," Kurama replied. Everyone turned around to stare at him. "After so many people had come in in an attempt to assassinate the Saint Beasts, they created this series of doorways to stop them. There is only one correct passage and the others are filled with traps so there can't be any second chance."

"Yes, Kurama. Assuming that they defeated Byakko and Genbu with flying colors just as we had. Actually not with flying colors with us," Hiei said sarcastically.

"Hiei, that might be true today, but I'm pretty sure that most people didn't even pass the Gate of Betrayal nor did the Saint Beasts ever go all the way down to meet even the slightest threats. In fact, I'm pretty sure they they even came to meet us is an oddity in itself."

"Yes, so go poop on someone else's party, Shorty, and go back and cry in your mushroom house! I'd like to see you do better than us." Kuwabara shook his fist and turned to the doors when the smaller man rolled his eyes at him. He focused on each of the doors, then walked up to each and put his hand on it. He hummed under his breath and nodded as he turned around. "Anyway... The second one from the right's the one we should go through. I'm feeling a massive amount of energy coming from it that I'm pretty sure is the next Saint Beast."

"Can we even trust you?" Hiei said, stepping towards Kuwabara and staring him in the eyes.

"Would you quit that? You trying to kiss me or something cause I definitely don't swing that way." Kuwabara stepped back. "And can we even trust _you_? And I'd like to see you do this for me, Mr. Spacely. Why can't you do it with your little demony powers, huh? But _no_, all you wanna do is stand there and be all like 'Derp, derp, derp, crawling in my skin, duh-derp, derp, DERP.'"

"...What the hell was that? And sure, when all else fails blame the communist." And he added as a side note, "It's still a good idea- communism."

"Um, this is starting too weird for me. I thought the Soviet Union stopped being that in the nineties or something..." Yusuke said. "It's really driving me nuts. I know I failed history and everything but at least I know that the Soviet Union's gone. I've seen the maps, okay?"

"Are you kidding? And Stalin's still alive! And the Soviet Union's a fucking hell hole. Let's just leave it at that." Hiei groaned. "Look, let's just go through the damn door already. If we take any longer, I risk having to take another call from that woman."

"...Whatever. I'm not gonna ask you anymore. You shouldn't talk crap about your girlfriend, though." Yusuke caught Hiei's punch before it made contact with his gut.

"Yeah, and another thing, I also came in second place and Genkai's tournament. And I have mad skills when it comes to sixth sense! Why else would I get in contact with all those ghosts? If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have had to see you and your partner, remember?" Kuwabara paused. "By the way, you might asking her to call and tell my dad that I don't need anyone to come by anymore? I kind of made peace with my powers, but I don't think he gets it. Also, I'm pretty sure he has a thing for her... But- but... That's not the point. I still have better skills than you, and that makes me more useful."

"You? Useful? That's a good one. Honestly, should I care about what place you were in that Tournament? It means nothing to me. And everyone knows that the second place one fails the most," Hiei replied.

"Of course, because if you're not first, you're last," Kurama added. Hiei rolled his eyes at that. "Now, as you said, let's move on." He pushed the door open and they all filed in behind him.

-:-:-

Keiko sighed irritably, her eyes out the window. _Yusuke's been gone a while. I would be more annoyed if I had to drag his stuff around all day. Not that he really bringing anything anyway. I wonder why he's been needing to go anyway. _She felt a finger tap her shoulder and she looked up, remembering that she was still halfway through a sandwich and that she had been in the middle of her friend's story of her last date. Keiko gave her a fake smile. "Sorry, I haven't been getting sleep lately. So what was it that you were saying? Last thing I remember was the part when you went into the movies. And what was it, they gave you a Coke icee instead of the cherry one somehow?"_  
_

The other girl sighed. "What're you spacing out for? I hope you're not worrying about that douche Yusuke. Cause he seriously is one. I mean, last week, I swear he was checking out my boobs. And I think he also got caught taking peeks in the locker room. I don't even know why you even bother with him. No matter how much you tell him to shape up he won't. And you should know it."

"We've known each other since forever so I kind of ended up having to be the one to look out for him. I mean, his mom's not home most of the time and he doesn't have a dad around. You know how they say that you're supposed to have a good role model? You know, I bet if he didn't meet me in preschool, he'd be way worse than he is now." _Ms. Urameshi... I mean, she's a nice lady but... I really wish she would lay off the alcohol a little. But I wonder... Am I really doing him any good? Is he even as bad as everyone says he is? Sure, he's an immature punk but...  
_

"Right. Let's forget about him. Oh did you hear that Fallout Boy's making a new CD? They need to come back to the freaking US already! It's not fair that everyone else gets to hog up my Pete. Right, Keiko?"

"Yeah..." Keiko stared out the window again. Her eyes fell on a green and purple object in a tree. Staring at it, she was sure that bird was watching her. _That's a weird looking bird over there... I mean, are those... Ears? _"Hey, Maki, you see that bird out there? In the tree?"

"Hm?" She stood up and looked out. "I don't see anything." She turned around. "Man, you really _aren't_ getting any sleep, are you?"

"Huh. I guess so."

-:-:-

They reached the end of the hall. There was a pair of large teal doors set in an off white frame. The handles were made of a sort of brass or bronze substance. The stairway was made of white marble and at each side of it were large dragon statues posed on three legs, the front right one held up reaching out to the viewer and the mouths hanging open in the midst of a roar. They were made of the same metal that the door handles were made from, though they had a must less clear luster.

"So Seiryu's a dragon, right? This is him. It has to be if these dragons mean anything," Yusuke mumbled mostly to himself. "And if he's a dragon he must breathe fire or something."

"What else can a dragon do?" Hiei asked. "You can't breath ice. That's stupid. It sounds too much work to have to freeze water and then somehow breath it out."

"Same with fire. I mean, how would they be able to make the fire from inside themselves? But you know something else dragons to do...? Burninate the countryside and burninating all the people and burninating all the people and burninating those straw cottages because he's TROGDOR!" He swatted Hiei's shoulder playfully, a huge grin on his face.

Hiei just gave him a deer in the headlights look. "...How much time do we have?"

"I dunno. Nine or ten hours, why?"

Hiei went up the steps. "We were in a hurry before, but now we're hesitating to go in now?" He pushed the door open. Everyone shrugged and followed him in. Standing in the middle of the large turquoise room was a tall man with mint green skin, black hair hanging in bunches around his navy blue hat, and a beard surrounding his mouth. He was dressed in navy blue robes, which matched his hat, a teal Chinese dragon circling around the length of his figure. He glared down at the four as the door closed.

"I heard those lowly goblins telling me humans had come into the Castle. It's not any surprise that you got passed Genbu and Byakko. They're an incompetent bunch, more like empty placeholders for us. No more. This is your last stop." Seiryu glowed with a light blue aura. The room's temperature dropped to the point that everyone's breathes started to produce steam. "Who dares to try their luck?" He paused. "Wait. It seems we have an unwelcome guest."

The four turned around as the doors opened slowly. Kuwabara groaned. "No way. I just shoved this guy into a pit of lava, and he's still back on his feet. They weren't kidding when they called these guys Saint Beasts..."

It was Byakko. His once white fur was charred black with dried blood scattered in blotches around his body. His leopard print robes became ugly rags barely latching onto his waist. He took long hard steps full of hesitation. He whimpered with each step, everything was filled with stinging pain, the kind that always seemed to climb that ladder of your spine and stab at the backs of your eyeballs. Large balls of fried fur dropped off him. Hiei stepped on one clump and it crunched. Yusuke made a face at the sound. In his final step towards Seiryu, he toppled over from the burden of his own body weight, tearing some of his skin from the impact of sliding on the floor with the ease of tearing the skin off a chicken. He heaved a few times before looking up at the other demon.

"Please Seiryu. I need more power. Just a little bit and I'll leave you alone. Please... I'm... I'm in so much pain!" Byakko cried. He struggled to even crawl closer to Seiryu's feet, tearing off more of his fur and skin in the process. He started to form smears of blood around his figure.

"You have proved your worth to us and now, and it looks as if it isn't us who need you, rather it's you who feed upon us like a parasite. And the only way to be ridded of a parasite..."

"Please, Seiryu. Anything but that. I'm begging you..."

"Be gone!" And in a flash Byakko was frozen solid and Seiryu was standing in front of him. "Your body is as weak as your mind, Byakko..." And in another flash Byakko was in pieces on the floor, leaving only his detached head, a piece of his spine sticking out from the end of it. His eyes rolled once and then the whole face ceased to move.

"How...?" Kuwabara stared. He clenched his fists. "How can you even do that to your own team mate?"

"It's some kind of ice technique. He formed a layer of ice around him kind of like a spider wrapping its prey in a web before eating it. And then we'll leave the rest of what happened to you." Hiei stepped forward. "As for the why... We don't even need that. He just needs the favor returned to him. I'll gladly do the job for you."

"You think you can do it? What if he...?"

"What, do you pity the poor fool? If that's the case then you shall suffer the same fate..." Seiryu flared up with the energy again so his whole body glowed again. He threw a punch in the air in an attempt to freeze Hiei, but he jumped out of the way in time for the ice to hit the wall. "Oh, I've forgotten about your incredible speed. Don't worry, the messenger was able to send the news to me before he died miserably. I suppose this means that I'd have to speed up as well?"

"I don't know. **Does it look like I'd slow down for you?**" Hiei grumbled. He leapt forward again. Seiryu continued to attempt to freeze him but Hiei kept dodging until nearly the whole room was covered with a layer of ice.

"Dammit, this whole place is gonna be a hockey rink before he's done with him," Yusuke said. "And I guess we'll be taking back those comments about dragons breathing fire."

Hiei's arm was caught in the zone of Seiryu's attack. He held it up before his eyes, smirking at him. "Don't look like you've won. You can freeze everyone else in this room but you can't freeze me..." After a moment, the ice on his arm melted. "**But shit, that still hurts...**"

"Well aren't you clever? But if you don't have legs you can't run from me anymore." Seiryu froze both of Hiei's legs and charged for the kill. Hiei was not phased. He stabbed his sword into the ground and used it to launch himself. The next thing they knew, Seiryu was in pieces on the floor with Hiei kneeling with his back to the other demon.

"Ho crap!" Yusuke gasped.

"That... That was awesome!" Kuwabara said.

Kurama walked to Hiei. "You look like you're in pain." He offered a hand to help him up, but the other man shook his head.

"It's the sudden heat change from my hand to my arm that makes it bad," Hiei replied. He stood up. "It's not so painful that I'd die over in pain."

"I'm sure." He was eying his arm, which was slightly red. _It doesn't look like it's just that..._ It already changed back to a normal color. _Never mind then._ "So how many cuts were did you make? I couldn't keep track of them all."

"Sixteen."

"Sixteen? I lost count after eight!" Yusuke replied.

"You have better eyes than me, Yusuke. I only saw flashes," Kurama replied.

"...I didn't even see the flashes..." Kuwabara was even more shocked. "Hey, so if I made you mad, I'm sorry."

"I'm not gonna waste my time on those who don't need it so I was short." Hiei paused and shook his head. "Wait, wait... And by that I mean I'm not wasting my time on that. I'm not going to touch you even if I wanted to. Besides that Mukuro would never let me hear the end of it if I did. You know how it... Never mind."

"Hey, so long story short: You won't get any and you'll have to sleep on the couch." Yusuke laughed. Hiei punched him in the solar plexus and walked away, fuming. Once he regained his breath, Yusuke replied, "Oh, come on. You know we're not serious."

-:-:-

"_I can't depend on anyone, can I? If that's the case then I'd have to destroy them all myself!" He took the whistle from the shelf, a ghastly smile crossing his lips as he stroked it as if it were a pet. "And it's now the time to play a final melody- the last stand... Now how does it go...?"_

-:-:-

The time was now two-thirty, and everyone was on their way home. Keiko was sitting in front of the computer, creating a powerpoint for her English class. She paused and stared out the window to think of what else to put, before doing a quick search for pictures of parrots. The teacher, Mr. Iwamoto, walked in. He paused in the doorway until Keiko turned to him, minimizing her google search. He walked to the desk and grabbed his briefcase.

"Keiko, you're still here?" he asked.

"Yeah, I have this presentation next week, and I don't have powerpoint at home so I came here because I didn't think you would mind. I could save it and go to the library if it does..." Keiko replied. She was bending down to get her flashdrive, hoping that he would at least need to leave the room right now.

"No, that's okay. (_Oh, thank god, looks like I've finally won,_ Keiko thought.) You should go home though. I was talking with her, and she says you don't need to worry about it. It's not worth _that_ many points. Of course, I asked because Martin was complaining about the huge load of work I've been giving."

"It's better to worry about it now instead of the night before."

Iwamoto laughed at that and walked out, saying to himself, "That's a teacher priming ideal right there."

Keiko sighed. _I know it's a horrible thing to think but... Iwamoto is really creepy like..._ The image of a certain bear danced in her mind. She shook her head. Anyway. She took a final glance at the results of her search before closing out the window and went back to her powerpoint. She was going to continue her typing when she saw a lime green thing in the corner of her eye. _Oh, it's that bird again. Someone must have lost their parrot or something. Must be lost. I wonder... _She stood up and started to open the window. It flew away, but she could have sworn she heard a witch-like laugh coming from it. _I think... I think I should get this done as fast as possible._ She sighed again. _Yusuke... He never came back to get his... folder and pencil. Well, who knows what he has in there. Maybe it's not such a big loss after all._

_Still... Why am I getting this bad feeling...?  
_

-:-:-

"We're almost to the top!" Yusuke took a sigh of relief. "Just that tower and we're free to go." As they proceeded down the corridor, a group humanoid figures appeared from the shadows, and they walked towards the fours in slow, tired steps. They all held their heads with a droop and had a mindless look in their eyes. They all had pine green skin that had the consistency of scales with line green hair on the top of their head, looking more like the leaves of grass than anything else. They all groaned nonsensical syllables in hallow voices. "Well, look at that. This'll be a piece of..."

"Yusuke, you should save your energy," Kurama said as he grabbed Yusuke's arm before he could raise it. "We can take care of these ones... You can wait while we finish them. You have the most energy out of all of us, and it's better to conserve it in light of your apparent upcoming battle. With our limited supply remaining, or for most of us, we would be the ideal people to take care of them."

"He's not kidding. I feel Suzaku's energy from here. I wouldn't mind having a good fight with him..." Hiei smirked at that. (_What are you implying, man?_)

"You know, this whole thing's annoying me! First you're all like, 'Oh, these guys are the toughest and the next one is the strongest...' Yeah, well, you have yet to prove that or else I'll keep ignoring you when you say, 'Oh, he's the strongest opponent yet!'"

"We you listening when Kurama said that their power is mostly political?"

"No, I was busy playing a Beyonce song in my head. What do you think, dipshit?"

"...Who?"

"The point is... What am I supposed to do while you guys beat up the freaky zombies of doom?"

Hiei looked towards the top of the tower. He pointed straight up. "There's a window up there."

"Jesus Christ! We're not all grasshoppers like you are... maybe. How do you think any of us are going to get up there without a jetpack or something?"

"Easy. We just climb up on each other's shoulders and make this human tower-ladder- whatever the right word for it is- so you can make it up there. All you do it just jump your way up."

"Oh, come on. How does that not defy the laws of physics? Now hurry up and decide. These things are starting to bite me." Kuwabara kicked one of the creatures away.

"First of all, Kuwabara, just shut the hell up and fight them off, and second of all, I don't know much real physics, but it's still a fool proof plan."

"Sure..." Kurama cleared enough space for them to carry out the plan. Then they created the tower with Kuwabara on the bottom.

"Why am I always the bottom one?" Kuwabara whined.

"Who cares what you think? You're the only one of us who didn't finish the job so you're basically like the quarter piece of pie no one wants," Hiei replied.

"Hey. Get ready. I'm going. Sorry, if I hit anyone's back. Just blame Hiei on this one." Yusuke jumped one by one... And he jumped higher. _Oh, hey, I might actually make it..._ But gravity proved him wrong and he fell to the ground. (Though his fall was cushioned by the creatures.) "...I freaking hate you guys."

"Seriously," Kuwabara said.

"Great, the feeling's mutual," Hiei said.

And so they tried another time in which they all fell over. The third time was a success at last. Yusuke pulled himself over the edge of the window sill. "Man, I owe you all lunch when we're all through!" So up the tower he went.

-:-:-

A green parrot flew away from Human World, quickly locating the entrance back towards Maze Castle, having memorized the route from constant use. Once back in her own land, she flew straight for the top toward of the castle, narrowly avoiding the random bolts of lightning in the sky. She reached her perch at the window sill, closest to where the sound of a flute was being played. She stopped to listen for a bit, pausing every so often to bend over a pick a small bug that happened to crawl into one of her ears or the fleas burrowing into her chest. The music stopped a couple of minutes later. The musician turned to her, the flute still held near his lips, waiting for her news.

"Oh, Lord Suzaku!" the bird gasped, once she realized his attention was completely on her. She silently relished in his undivided attention before going on affectionately, "I didn't mean to disturb you."

He dropped the whistle from his lips. "Oh, it's you, Murugu. Do you have any useful information for me?" He turned to the mirror which showed a road blocked by a riot of people attacking each other. He smiled at the great view of his work. "Come to the mirror, and show me what you've found."

"Nothing really except..." She flew to the mirror and tapped her beak on it. Keiko appeared on the screen, still sitting in front of the computer and lost in thought. "A friend of this boy Yusuke Urameshi. You've heard of him right?"

"The one who apparently took out Rando? What is it that they call him these days? The Spirit Detective."

"Right-o, that one. This girl is Keiko Yukimura from what I heard the other humans saying. Their relationship is more platonic, but there's still love there, it seems." She faked gagging. "His weakness."

"Well, then... Keiko Yukimura. You're first..." He put the whistle to his lips to which Murugu giggled. She perched on his shoulder and listened to the music with more ease this time.

-:-:-

"I'm done for today..." Keiko sighed as she saved the powerpoint on her flashdrive. As she put it in her backpack, she heard footsteps coming through the door. "Is that you, Iwamoto? I'm done so..."

Iwamoto pounded a hole into the wall. "I told you... I told you go home!"

"What? Oh... I'm so sorry but...!"

"Don't you know what they do to students who don't listen to their teachers?" He flung a textbook at her. She froze in shock, watching in horror as spit started to drip from the corners of his lips like a mad dog. His eyes had a glassy, dead look to them. He walked towards her with large awkward steps. She finally regained mobility.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She ran out into the halls. _It's empty out here. Maybe they had a last minute teacher's meeting. I know that kind of thing always bothers him. But... What was with that look in his eyes...?_ When she left the main building, she saw the staff standing out there armed with various things from textbooks to brooms to even bats. Frozen with shock again, she stood there, wide eyed, knowing that they, too, had the same dead look in their eyes. She started to feel a bit lightheaded, but she knew she couldn't faint. Not now. Anything but now. _Oh god, oh god, oh god, what do I do? What do I DO?!_ Someone pulled her away by the arm and Keiko tried to flail away from them until she realized that she was being led to safety in the bushes.

"Hurry, Keiko!" And Botan took her away as fast as possible. "Don't ask questions, just hurry!"

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:****  
Yeah, I dunno why they keep saying stuff about Hiei and space. I think he'd make a cool astronaut though. I can't remember how to spell half these Saint Beasts' names anymore.**  
Yeah. And if you see words **in bold like this** it means they're speaking in a different language. If you keep reading this you'll notice that half the people in this story aren't even from the US. Isn't that so purely American though?  
-Much love, JC.


	8. Breakdown

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America... And do it with some style not some I forgot my line... (Or something like that.)  
__And Mukuro does kind of look like she drives like a maniac, doesn't she?  
__In the wise words of Chris Sabat: "When life gets tough, don't be in the last saga."_

Chapter 8: Breakdown

"I wish we had met on better circumstances, Keiko..." Botan mumbled as they caught their breath, hiding behind the bushes near the locker rooms behind the gym. "I was not ready to be running away from people like this... Oh, and I'm Botan, by the way. Let's leave it at that before we continue running for our lives." _This is so weird. Why didn't the Chief say anything about this? Or at least call us to let us know that they've all come here... And even stranger... Why are they all over here?  
_

"Yeah... Just what's going on here?" Keiko asked. "I'm so confused... I mean, those people, they're not... Zombies...? Are they?"

"I dunno about that bit, but we have to get you out of here." Botan took out a cellphone. "I'll take you downtown to this person I know. She'll take care of you. I hope." She punched in the number with her fingers shaking, groaning whenever she accidentally pushed the wrong key. "Come on. Come on... Pick up, pick up, pick up... There! Hello?" The branches of the bushes were pushed apart revealing the now red face of a security guard.

"What the hell are you doing texting on campus? I bet you're sexting too, you little whore. And you know what they do to bad students like you. Don't you? I'll give you something to text about." He raised a switchblade he held in his hand.

They both rolled out of the way before he brought the blade down. They bumped into another group of people armed with baseball bats. Keiko grabbed Botan and they rushed out as fast as they could. They saw other staff members coming their way. "Oh no!" _What if they blocked the way out of here? I don't wanna get Botan killed when we just... Yusuke! Why do I keep thinking of Yusuke! Oh god, what is going on here?!_

Botan turned to the closest person to her and grabbed their arm just as he was about to bring the bat down, kicked out her leg to bring him off balance, but she still gripped the bat. The man tried to stand back up but she pushed his hands so the handle slammed into his forehead, knocking him unconscious. Keiko looked around. Botan tossed her the bat and went for the next closest person. They struggled for the hold of the bat. A woman raised her hands to strike Botan, but Keiko shut her eyes and swung as hard as she could into the woman's ribs. After an awful crackling sound, the woman went down and Botan was able to get another bat to knock out the last of the group. Keiko leaned against the wall of the gym. Then her hand touched the glass.

"I have an idea. There's a phone near here. There's a nurse's office here. We'll call the police," Keiko said between labored breaths. Botan nodded and they both smashed the window open. After brushing some of the shards from the sill, they both crawled in, hurrying away from the windows and to the nurse's office. Keiko turned the knob. "Oh god... It's locked..."

"Allow me." Botan smashed her bat into the door. Keiko took the next swing. They heard the sound of hands pounding on the door to the building. They finally made the door splinter enough that they could walk in. Dropping to their knees so they wouldn't be seen through the blinds, Botan and Keiko crawled to the phone. Before Keiko had her hand on it, she saw the wire dangling before her eyes. "No... They didn't..."

"Yukimura..." They turned around and saw Iwamoto was standing in the doorway, armed with a box cutter. Botan held the bat ready. Iwamoto stepped closer and she swung the bat to knock the cutter from his hand, twisting some of the fingers in the process. He hunched over, howling in pain. Just then, Botan kicked him right in the jaw and knocked him all the way down with a sloppy jab of her bat. Just to be absolutely sure, she also kicked him in the side of the head.

"Whew... Looks like the little karate I know paid off at last..." She reached into her pocket. "Darn it, now I have to call again." The knocks on the door grew louder. "Looks like we need to lock ourselves up. You know a bathroom that no one goes to?"

Keiko nodded. She reached a hand up and rubbed a temple.

"It'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I promise it. Yusuke'll save the day. He always has and always will."

"What do you mean?"

They heard glass being broken. "Bathroom, remember?" Keiko nodded, and they ran down the hall.

-:-:-

"Keiko!"

Suzaku dropped the whistle from his lips. Murugu fluttered off his shoulder and perched on a sill, eyes locked on Yusuke. "Oh, and here's our special guest. Aren't you a little dirty to be...? Never mind that. I see that you've noticed the show behind me. You know, Urameshi, it doesn't have to end like this- us trying to kill each other. I'll tell you what: I'll admit you as one of us. You won't have to live the dreary life as a human. Powerless. Helpless. Weak. If you join us- well, me now and Murugu-" He indicated the lime green bird now hoovering by his head, "then you'll have all the power you could have wanted. You can have all that on one condition- I want you to eat that girl's heart as a pledge of allegiance."

"No deal!" Yusuke clenched his fists.

"Well, it looks like we're in a stalemate. If that's the case..." He turned toward the screen again. "Just look at her face. It would make the perfect horror movie. These types of things always bring out the best of people, don't you think...? See how helpless she is? Why, in just a moment, that blue haired one will be knocked off, and then, there will be no one to save your princess anymore. She's too scared to even defend herself. And look at how her face blanches. She's about to faint. Just imagine how they'll section her to pieces when she lays out unconscious on the floor."

"You sick bastard..." Yusuke lunged forward, pulling back his fist to punch Suzaku's face.

Suzaku olnly had the time to block the shots. _This one's fast! I've got no choice but to go..._ Suzaku jumped into the air and floated above Yusuke's head.

"I see what you did there, and I'm not scared!" He fired his Spirit Gun. His jaw dropped when he saw Suzaku smack it away like it was a soccer ball about to hit his face.

"Damn, that still kind of stings... That's impressive for a human. Most humans that actually make it to this point have no weapons once they have to deal with me midair, you know that? I'd expect this kind of thing from an artificial too." He rubbed his knuckle gingerly, a half smile still crossing his face. "Oh, it's been such a long time..."

_No way... After Genaki's training from hell, I should be able to blow this guy to... Well... Go frickin figure I got the God moded one. But there's no way in hell that I'm gonna let Keiko die because of me. _He started to grit his teeth, taking another look at the screen. Botan and Keiko had to fight off another couple of teachers, only their attackers were barehanded this time._  
_

"Hey, look at the sky." Suzaku looked up. Yusuke, caught by surprise, did the same. "There's always a storm here so there's never a surprise when there's lightning out... Today's your lucky day..." A bolt came down through the hole in the roof and struck his out reaching hand. His arm twitched a bit from the shock but somehow the rest of him remained completely still. Again Yusuke's jaw dropped in shock.

"Oh! Oh! I know what _this_ is. You're gonna get it now, boy," Murugu laughed. She started to fly figure eights above Yusuke's head. Yusuke couldn't help but get a nicer clear image of shooting that bird and roasting it for a thanksgiving feast at that moment.

Suzaku then charged at him, fingers raised as though he was about to do a chop. Yusuke barely managed to pivot to the side, but even though he was barely grazed, he was filled with an intense pain. He hit the ground, convulsing for a bit, before rolling back to his feet. He saw some steam rise up from his skin. _Shit! I'm gonna be fried alive!_ Yusuke groaned as he got back to his feet. He stumbled a bit before he got his balance back and he had to shake his head to feel as though the world wasn't spinning anymore.

"Oh, it really is going to be a date to remember. You're the first human to survive that, you know." He did a light clap, with another mocking grin on his face. "You sure you're not an artificial?"

"Gee, don't I feel special...? I don't even know what the hell you're talking about, but I sure as hell aren't whatever the hell that is."

"You should because if I nick you again, who knows if you'll be able to get back up." He jumped back into the air and gathered more lightning. Yusuke gritted his teeth again, watching the indications of the motions of Suzaku's hand this time.

-:-:-

Keiko and Botan rushed into the bathroom and stayed pressed against the door for a few moments to ensure that no one was coming after them. Botan then searched for a lock on the door until Keiko stopped her. She whispered to her, "This bathroom's the closest thing to the front door. I'm pretty sure that they'll all crowd around this door so we can't just run out from here. There's a window over there so we could slip out from there... Ah, I dunno. I'm kind of scared that they destroyed my car by now and no matter where we'll go, they'll all be close behind. You.. Don't know of a place that we could hide at, do you... Oh, am I listening to myself...? You said something earlier... I think..."

"Yeah, I did. Say something about where we can go, I mean. I need to call them..." She reached in her pocket. "Oh shoot! I dropped my phone somewhere."

"You're kidding. Oh, but how can we even get out there if..."

"Okay, calm down. We can figure it out. Keiko, do you have your phone with you? I need to call her and let her know that we need a way to get there. I could get her to pick us up. She looks like someone that drives like a maniac anyway, so it'll be perfect if anyone comes in." Botan took the phone when Keiko handed it to her and immediately started jamming in the numbers. "Pick up... Pick up... Okay, here we go!"

"Hello?" the voice on the phone greeted. "You gonna talk for reals this time?"

"Hey. Get me the chief. And hurry it up. It's an emergency."

"The whole damn town's in an emergency. What the hell makes you any more important than... Oh hey, chief... It's for you." They heard a faint voice saying "thank you" sarcastically before it replaced the first woman's voice. "This is the Chief. Who is this and what do you need?"

"Thank god, you picked up. I called you earlier, but I kind of got..." She held in a scream as she felt someone banging on the door. She started to talk faster out of panic. "...I got cut off. We've been getting chased by these people who've been infected. They're clearly after Keiko."

"Well, that would explain why everyone's starting to report back to me that their sector's all clear or they saw people moving away from their sector anyway..."

"Oh, that's cheery!"

"I was just thinking aloud. That's a larger problem. I'm just as concerned about it as you. There's not much I can do because if I send out my men to open fire on these guys, then that's classified as slaughtering humans, even if they're possessed and causing danger to other human lives, but when it comes down to it, that's no way to solve this at all... There's also the ethic considerations behind that as well."

"What, there's none for the first part of that...?"

"Don't get smart with me. Do you have a way over here?"

"We're locked up in a bathroom. We're at Keiko's school."

"Of all the places... And I'm assuming that's a no. I really wish I could call a code red and push the panic button but all things considered, this might not be all that bad."

"Not all that bad? Now you've just crossed the line." Keiko stared at her and then backed into a stall.

"Well, I can outline all of the criteria that must be met in order for a code red and for a panic situation and then give you fifty textbook examples of what situations that may be, but as you obviously don't have the time to sit through that, I won't. I could send some people down to loosen up the situation, but I still need to make sure you get to a safe place. Everyone'll take a while to take care of things before you're safe."

"Well, can you pick us up then?" She saw Keiko open a door to another stall. She suddenly became aware of a girl crying in the bathroom, and she didn't like what the sound of it at all. She whispered to Keiko, "What are you doing?" Keiko shrugged, and turned back to the person. Botan mouthed, "Give her some privacy, will you?"

"Who is this person you're with anyway?"

"A friend of Yusuke's. Her name is Keiko Yukimura."

"So that's how it is. Looks like they have a spy as well. Try to stay where you are if possible, it sounds like you're safe for the most part. I'll hurry over there, but you have to be quick. I've got my hands full over here. Just make sure to stay away from any windows if they don't know you're here. I'll try and be in in less than fifteen minutes."

"Well, that's a given. Thank you so much."

The crying got louder. "Help me..." Botan swallowed a lump in her throat and turned around. She saw a girl standing in front of Keiko with a compass covered blood in her hand. The girl put the sharp point in the point between her wrist and where her palm began, the area dripping with blood. Keiko was watching at her with sympathy. Botan could only mouth, _Get away from there, Keiko!_

"Why... Won't you _help me_?" The girl started swinging the compass around wildly.

"We have to get out." Botan grabbed Keiko and they struggled to get out the window. The girl slashed Botan's leg and pulled her away from it. They knew they couldn't escape so easily. Keiko took the bat and swung it at the girl's face. She blocked it with her unbrutulized arm and continued to tug on Keiko's leg. Botan dropped from the window, and raised the bat.

-:-:-

Mukuro groaned and dialed a number. After a couple of rings, he picked up, "Hey, Hiei?"

"What the fuck do you want?" he growled. "I'm busy right now."

"Of course, I pick up the phone and I think to myself, 'Oh, I bet Hiei's got his hands tied behind his back right now so I think I'll call him!' Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Listen- you have to hurry it up. There's a human girl on the verge of death. I think they turned the infected over to attack her instead."

"Aren't you the one who doesn't care about body counts?"

"You know that this is a fairly simple case, and my failure to keep one human from harm reflects on my leadership ability. And you know what they do to us if we're terrible in our leadership. You don't want that, do you?"

"You do realize that they dropped the acceptable number of people harmed for you because of your history, right? And you wouldn't have to keep coming to that damn place anymore. You're always complaining that you wanna quit."

"Well, I do but not to that extent."

"Even if I wanted to rush through this even more than I have to, I can't. It's all depending on Urameshi now. There was an explosion a little while ago. I guess all you can do is pray that that came from him. If worse comes to worse, the bottom three of us would have to fight Suzaku. But I can't say we have to. I haven't felt Urameshi's energy disappear yet."

"Suzaku? You're at the top then? It's not Suzaku's defeat that you should be looking for, you fool. Your main priority should be getting the whistle and destroying it. Forget about killing the Saint Beasts. No one would care if one or two are missing, but you don't need all four of them dead. And like I said, we can't have this human girl dying not just to save our own asses but also because if we let that girl die, Yusuke's gonna kill us. ...And Spirit World won't complain about that either."

"Yeah, well, they're all a bunch of dicks anyway. There's nothing we can do right now. What're you worrying about anyway? You don't really seem like you enjoy life any more than I do."

"Just try and get this done. We're getting a bunch of these calls from all over the city. I'm almost the only one left in the office right now and... God, just get it done!" She hung up.

"**...Psycho bitch.**"

-:-:-

Suzaku bent over Yusuke who was struggling to get up. "So you love this girl a lot, don't you? Or maybe you can stand through a lot of pain for a human. So tell me...? What is it that makes you so willing to die for a little human bitch?"

"That... That's none of your business."

"Still not budging, eh? You're really wasting my time, human. So I think I'll just speed this up a bit now..." For a moment, Yusuke's eyes were blurred. He shut his eyes hard and opened them. Thinking, his eyes were still bad, he blinked again and saw they he was not mistaken. There was a line of seven identical copies of Suzaku. "So now that you know this is not an mistake, can you guess with one of us is the real Suzaku? Well, that's the beauty of it, Urameshi. We all are the real ones. We are all him. I'd like to see you try dodging my Dark First now."

A blizzard of the attacks all shot at him. He knew that he couldn't run from all of them. One pierced his right shoulder and he immediately fell to the ground convulsing, his scream growing shrill. Two of the Suzakus then walked to him, each grabbed an arm, and pulled him up. Another walked up to him and looked him right in the eyes. "So does my offer sound good now?"

Yusuke spit into his eyes. It felt as though it took all the energy just to even make his mouth go through the motions to do so. After a minute, he finally was able to say, "Oh, screw you. Do you think that I'm that wishy washy about this stupid job? You sure as hell didn't think I came all the way over here just to give up and give in."

"You shut up!" The two Suzakus shocked him with a lightened form of the Dark Fist. The other one turned to the screen. "Say, those girls look troubled. Look at that, They barely were able to knock out that girl that attacked them. I should respect that because they were almost completely unarmed."

Yusuke looked up with all the strength he had. Keiko and Botan were staring at the girl with the bloodied wrist. They made sure that she was unconscious before they finally stared to climb out the window that they broke open. "You know... Your taste in movies sucks. But if you're a fan of downer endings, I'm gonna tell you now that it's not gonna be one of those. Unless you wanna count yours in."

"Not as long as you're alive. I know that's what you were going to say." He turned back to Yusuke. "But that's not a problem and you won't be able to change the ending. Not while I still have you trapped. And after you watch your little girlfriend die, I'm gonna kill _you_."

-:-:-

The two girls were both glad to see the crowd was not as thick around the window so they were able to leave the bathroom as safely as they could. But they were nearly struck by someone's bat as they ran to the main entrance. Just as they were about to run to the parking lot a car pulled in.

"Let's get in!" Botan nearly dragged Keiko into the backseat with her. Immediately after they closed the door, the car sped off. Keiko took a moment to take in what was going on before she caught a glimpse of the driver in the mirror. Before she could say something, Botan was already talking. "Is it really safe to be driving right now?"

"I haven't run into any trouble, but that's probably because I'm the one driving. I don't know if they can still find us. I doubt they can find Keiko's spiritual print just like that. They're human. I'm pretty sure those parasites can't also make them spiritually aware if they aren't already."

"What if _they_ drive?"

"Pray to god that someone cuts them off and they decide to go after the other person instead of us...? I don't know. Do they even have the mind to drive?"

"Shouldn't you know? You're the expert."

"Do I look like a parasite to you or a Saint Beast? I'm a lowly bystander, remember?" It was silent.

"Who are you...?" Keiko finally asked.

"Right, I didn't say anything about it to you. I'm Mukuro. Or Reeve in this world." Botan looked appalled and tried to get Keiko to ignore the final comment (which didn't take much effort, she still looked like she was ready to pass out). "That's all you need to know. I guess you could say I'm a friend of Yusuke's, but we'll take that up later over a nice cup of coffee. Wish we could've done this on better circumstances. We'll be at the station within fifteen minutes or ten or nine if I keep driving like this. Don't pass out on me, okay? Just think of how nice that cup of coffee will be. And how nice it'll be when you get home and lay down in your bed and... Hey, is that man... Drunk? But it's only three-thirty, why would he be...?" She swerved to move out of his way, shaking the backseat passengers. The person swerved in her direction again. "Damn. Get ready for this. I don't like where this is going..."

They started to zig-zag until they collided...

-:-:-

"No!" _Keiko! Not Keiko! I can't let her die over there! But I can't move... I can't..._ An image flashed before his eyes. A memory from Genkai's training... _"Well, if you don't give in all your effort then you WILL die, dimwit! Your best results come from your best effort! And you should know damn well after that showdown with Rando that demons don't fight for the hell of it like humans do. They do it for blood. And if you keep half assing it, that's what they'll get! Push beyond your limits and you will win! Being tired is no excuse!"_

_Push my limits... But how... I'm so... tired... But I can't let Kieko die. Not Keiko. Not Botan. Not Mukuro either. No. Not because of me... I need more power. I need to find it somewhere..._

He watched as the crowd closed in on the car. Keiko was leaning towards the driver's seat, shaking Mukuro. She looked like she was limp from the impact. She turned to Botan, who had shards of glass scattered around her face and arms. Tears dripped from Keiko's eyes. She clutched Botan to her, grabbed the bat. She started to mouth the words of a pray.

_No... No, no, no, fucking no! I'm not going to let her die and I'm not going to die in this shit hole! I want to fucking go home already. This is shit. _He felt a surge of energy in him, and he released it all, sending all of the Suzakus away and they all fell unconscious. Yusuke collapsed. He saw the whistle was just out of his reach. He gathered all the energy he could and started to take slow movements toward it. Then he felt a light splat on his back. By the smell of it, he knew that damn bird just crapped on his back. He started to crawl closer to the flute. Just as it was within his grasp, Murugu smacked the whistle away with her beak, "No you don't!"

Yuuske smirked at her. "Too bad. I will anyway. Where I'm from, there's a lot of people without houses or jobs now. They would love to have a turkey dinner right now... I'm not one that gives stuff for canned food drives but here's a little favor for them..."

"Y-you can't fire that stupid thing. You can't even stand up." She grabbed the whistle and carried it away into the air with her.

"Watch me." He fired the last of his Spirit Energy in a rather weak Spirit Gun. She was only able to drop the whistle before she was killed. "Score one for the supporters of Sarah Palin."

"That's no big loss right there. Too bad you didn't think to use it on the whistle. It's the lesser of two evils in your terms since you humans are so bent on being righteous when you know damn well that you aren't," Suzaku said. He stood up. "And too bad you couldn't have at least made sure that I was dead either."

"Sorry. I was used to my enemies being dead when I kill 'em." Yusuke struggled to his feet but fell back down. He forced himself up once more and this time, he stayed up but he knew he was swaying side to side a bit. "So you're not so bad without your minions now. Are you..."

"You wasted your energy on Murugu. I think I'm just going to finish you with the Dark Fist of Lightning by myself. And it looks like your girlfriend's going right now, too."

Yusuke saw the people were starting to drag Keiko away from the car as she kicked and screamed. Botan was being pulled out too with several hands wrapping around her neck. He tore his eyes away from the screen, not wanting to see more. "No... You're wrong..." He felt energy surging within him again. _It looks like this'll be the last time..._ "I've got plenty."

Suzaku was about to fire his Dark Fist of Lightning when Yusuke shot him with a powerful Spirit Gun before he collapsed. Suzaku hit the ground and immediately started to get up but he was paralyzed. _I feel so numb... Why...? _He saw his tentacle in front of his eye. _It's cracked! But that's not supposed to happen. _"You've won... Somehow, you were able to win..." His final thought was, _Too bad I couldn't live longer. This human boy... He seems like he's worth tracking down again. _He thought he saw a vision. A man with white hair. He didn't understand it, but he knew who it was just for a moment. And that was all.

Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei came in at that moment. Hiei noticed the flute, picked it up, and smashed it against the wall. He smirked at the satisfying sound it made when it hit the ground in pieces. Kurama pointed at the screen. They both stared at it a while.

"So that's what they looked like..." Kurama mumbled. One by one, the possessed dropped unconscious. He cocked at brow at the girls on the screen. He thought he recognized the girl with the blue hair, but the other one. He turned around to see what the other two were doing. "Looks like we've got that taken care of. And it looks like we've done Spirit World a favor by taking out all of these guys since they've been wanting the end of that now. But I don't feel... Oh..." Kurama stopped when he saw Yusuke was on the ground. Hiei crouched down and pressed his thumb on Yusuke's neck. He shook his head. Kuwabara kneeled right next to him. He started to sniff back some snot and rub his eyes vigorously.

"No. Not again, not again..." Kuwabara mumbled. "Hey, Hiei, he's still fresh, right? Like he just died? That means he can still be saved, right?" Hiei shrugged and turned back to the screen. "He doesn't have life energy. Then that must mean..."

"Kuwabara, you can't be thinking of..." Kurama said.

"Yeah. I am," he replied simply.

"But it's a risky action. If you give him too much, then you won't make it either. I can't even tell you when you need to stop."

"I don't care. He can have as much as he wants. He's been dead once and I won't let him do it again. Here we go." He pressed his hands to Yusuke's chest as though he was performing CPR. He shut his eyes, focusing on the energy within. His skin glowed and he imagined it going through his hands and to Yusuke's body. He opened his eyes briefly and saw Yusuke was glowing, too. He shut his eyes and continued his work until his hands shook. "I think that's good enough, don't you?" Kurama gave him a wry smile.

Hiei tapped Kurama's shoulder and turned his attention back to the screen. "Can you believe this shit?" Kurama turned to it, too, as he heard Kuwabara pass out from exhaustion.

-:-:-

Yusuke woke up in an unfamiliar room. He was sure that if he even opened his eyes at all, he would still be in Maze Castle. But this was a room with walls covered with random rock bands. He looked down at the bedding, dark blue with a sort of lightning pattern on them. He sighed. He was done with lightning for twenty lifetimes now. He turned his head, and when he saw Kurama and Kuwabara sitting at the desk near the bed, he knew where he was. Kuwabara was the first to notice that Yusuke was awake.

"Hey, look you're awake. I got so much to tell you. You missed school being closed for it a week. It sucked... For you! Because you're not gonna enjoy because you have to go back tomorrow. And Iwamoto's arrested right now cause he sent Takanaka to the hospital or something," Kuwabara explained enthusiastically. "Dunno when that happened. But at least that jerk's not gonna bug us anymore."

"Hey, hold it. That's nice and all but... What about Keiko and Botan... And Mukuro? Forgot about her... I saw this screen, and I saw everything happen. So what happened to them? Are they okay?" Yusuke asked. The other two exchanged glances of anxiety. "What?"

"About that..." They said nothing more.

" ...What the hell? Why aren't you telling me anything? What happened?!"

"Jeez, Yusuke, five minutes and you're already screaming your head off. I can see someone's not a morning person," Botan said with a giggle as she walked into the bedroom with an extremely nervous looking Keiko following behind. "She waved a bag labeled Hostess for all to see.

"By the way, Mukuro- I mean, the chief's just fine. She got hit pretty bad by the airbag, and it knocked her out for a while. I guess because she's kind of short and I've heard she's prone to head injuries too, that might be a big part of it too... But all in all, she was unscratched. She says she's a lot tougher than people think she is," Kurama said. "Don't look at us like that. We just wanted to have a bit of fun with you. And it was all Kuwabara's idea..."

"You guys are dicks..." Yusuke grumbled.

"Now, it's time to party since we all got out of that nice and fine. I've got coffee cakes." They all stared at her like she was crazy. "What, it's the only thing I could find in my budget and Hostess was having a 'Buy five for five dollars' sale that day, too. You don't see that many deals out in this country anymore, now do you?" She giggled again. (_Yes, plenty of times._ Kurama thought to himself.) Botan lifted the plastic bag in her hands offering them all one. When Kurama got up to go (of course after taking one of the cakes first), she asked, "Where are you going?"

"Well, I have to go back to work and report to the chief since Hiei's gone MIA, apparently. It might mean that he's skipping work and getting drunk. I have no idea what he does. But I'll come back sometime to make sure you all are fine. I have a feeling we'll all be seeing each other again really soon." Kurama walked away after stopping in the doorway to wave goodbye.

"I have to home. My mom's gonna be bugging if I don't come home soon," Yusuke moaned and forced himself out of bed, half noticing Keiko following him. He took a coffee cake, too. "And you got the good kind too. Thanks, Botan."

"I have to go, too. Dad's kind of been bugging me to get some stuff done since I've been busy keeping an eye on Urameshi..." Kuwabara walked out. He turned around and walked back in the room. "I don't know if you can stay here. My sister might not wanna see some girl she doesn't standing around here. My dad'll freak too."

"What? Well, more for me then..." She looked into the bag. "What? You guys only left two for me! I'm a hungry person you know!" Botan unwrapped one and walked out of the apartment, sighing. _I'm so alone._

Keiko stopped Yusuke before he continued to walk home and offered to drive him home. Of course, he knew he had to accept. The first few minutes of the ride were silent but then Keiko broke the silence. "Yusuke. I don't know what's going on right now at all. Botan explained some of it to me and Mukuro said a few things that didn't make much sense but... I don't care what it is that you're doing. I just want to know so tell me first. I don't know why we stopped telling each other things anyway but..." She paused. "Let's go home."

"Hey... Wanna cook me dinner in return?"

"No. Just no."

"I need payback. Come on."

Keiko just chuckled.

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:  
****Not much to say about this one. It is what it is.  
****Much love, JC.**


	9. TH3 TH1RT33TH

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: Yay! Jersey Devil. I've been wanting to write a short story about this thing but I never got to doing it. It's kind of an obscure topic depending on where you're at, I guess. Can't remember where I first heard about it. Might've been from the game. Come to think of it, what was that game supposed to be about anyway? I miss it... This title's a pain to type. Doesn't help much that my sister used to edit my stuff as a Grammar Nazi.  
__I prophesize that Hiei's gonna get all emo and rant...!_

Chapter 9: TH3 TH1RT33NTH

_Mother... Why did you throw me away? For that brief moment you held me in your arms, it was the first and last warmth I felt in my life, and that's what's keeping my sanity as I walk the earth for eternity. No... I will not rest... I will not... Not even after the day of Judgement. Not after the Lord has destroyed what is left of this world..._

_Mother, why couldn't you have given me the time to become worthy of you? I've become a serf of hell for you, and I would even become the foulest beast for you. Yes, a vengeful demon that feasts on the wastes of the lowest sinners in the deepest bowels of hell. I'll tear the world to ribbons for you. Tear out all the flesh and bones of your enemies, even those who have wronged you in the slightest. I could bring you the life you would have wanted: a line of suitors spread across the land asking for your hand, all the freedom to do as you desire, every item that you wish to have in your possession, no matter how petty, the moon, the stars, the cruel sun. I would give my life a thousand times over, live hundreds of lives as parasitic worms and bottom-feeders of society if you so wish. I could make the earth and hell combined, so the blood and flames below overfill the disgusting lands filled with savages, and in the end, I would take you in my arms and carry you up to heaven- to safety... and I... I would drop down and suffer the rest of eternity, if you so wish. All... For you._

_But it seems that that won't be enough. There is something I can give. Something you always wanted... Please, mother... Mother... Mother... I will find you a child. The one you always wanted and maybe then I can see the smile that I never saw. Even if it was not for me, seeing you smile for a second will be all I ever needed to continue this vile survival._

-:-:-

"New Jersey?" Hiei asked, cocking a brow. "Don't they have one of these things over there, too? Why can't they take care of this case themselves?"

"Well, they just figured that we need to stop dancing around half naked on our sunny beaches and tanning as we dye our hair blonde, because you know that's all we have to do in California," Mukuro replied. "And all in between our plots to help our Governor Schwarzenegger AKA the Govenator terminate John Connor. I didn't vote for that guy. But then again, we don't exist in the eyes of the government. Hiei, don't start complaining, I could send you out to Honduras or some ridiculously distant place like Santiago did with Kirin. Though, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure why he did such things. It kind of makes things harder than they need to be on our end." She waved a paper in his direction. "In any case, they actually sent us a request to send someone out there. With them still being a relatively small group at the moment, they need all the help they can get. We've actually been really close. If we were ever in a pinch, I would ask for some of their members, too."

"Uh... So why don't they ask for people from states closer to them? Isn't Georgia supposed to have the biggest department?"

"They hate Georgia."

"That explains nothing."

"Why can't you be more like Minamino? He just accepts his assignments without complaint." Kurama shrugged in response to that comment. "See? Look at him right now. You should strive to be like he is now."

"...He doesn't have to deal with your shit on a daily basis."

"Yes, he does. He works here too. Seriously, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

"She killed herself. Quit asking me questions like that."

"On a less disturbing note, you're supposed to be doing something with the Jersey Devil. I'm sure you all have heard of it. Especially if you're a fan of the _X-Files_."

"I thought you said that thing about assuming."

"And you also think potato has an E at the end, too, Zamyatin. Well, for the record... The legend dates back to the 1830's if I remember correctly..." She started to flip through the file.

"What, are you an old woman on the verge of being sent to a nursing home?"

"No, but you were given a rifle as soon as you ended up in school even though you can't tell anyone who invented the light bulb."

"Okay, now you're _really_ not making any sense. And it was Jefferson, right?"

"Je-?! Really, Hiei? Really?" She sighed and dropped it. "They usually describe the creature as bipedal with the head of a horse and the legs of a bird... Or was it the body?"

"What do you mean by that? You mean to tell us that you assigned us this case, and you know nothing about it?"

"Well, I know parts of it. It involves something about a woman, but as to what she did, none of the stories add up to why the child left her at birth- with or without its choice. I don't know the entirety of the case, but you're the ones who have to deal with it so you should know the story backwards and forwards." Hiei shrugged and he started to walk out the door as Kurama stood up from his chair. "Hey, don't start leaving yet. You still have plenty time to get ready for your flight." Kurama flinched at the word. She took a briefcase from under her desk and she gave it to him. "You might need this. If anyone asks, it's some laptop that I need you to take to a shop and fix. But I doubt anyone's gonna notice you walking out with that anyway. If someone can walk out with the microwave without anyone knowing, then you can go out with that."

"What is it?" Kurama asked. He fidgeted with the locks on the case, hiding the impulse to open it.

"It's called the Colt. If you watch _Supernatural_, you've heard about that too." He gave her a blank look. "Hm. Most people understand what I'm getting at. Apparently, it was created in 1863 by Samuel Colt, and it supposedly holds the power to destroy anything- even spirits. But I think that might be a lie. We only received this thing recently- almost a few months prior to Santiago's retirement."

"Oh. Okay... So why are you giving us this?"

"I'm actually not supposed to be giving you these types of things. It's supposed to be used only in an absolute emergency, and even then, I'm supposed to be the one handling this since I'm the chief or Kirin. He's my assistant. But if they're right in calling this thing a devil you might need this. I've heard that regular weapons alone would be meaningless. I've never seen one face to face before, but you'd be screwed if you do see one and can live to tell the tale... Or with your soul. The damn things just want our soul no matter who we are."

"Heh, even Dick Cheney?"

"Soul, what soul?"

"Aren't devils and demons supposed to be the same thing?" Hiei asked. "What, quit looking at me like I'm stupid. How am I supposed to know?"

"...I thought you would know. And no, they aren't," Mukuro answered.

"Yeah, well I don't know, so screw you. I wouldn't've been asking if I knew, now would I?"

"If I was still in the army, I wouldn't want you as my First Sergeant. Okay, it's a big long story, and I'm sure that you know most of it since you had to deal with all that quantum physics bullshit yourself when you came over here and I don't want Minamino to get bored. There are four basic entities that exist in any dimension that we know of. There could be more but that doesn't apply to us since we are loosely connected. And those are devils- _oni_- for you, Minamino, I think- demons-_youkai_, humans, and angels. Devils and angels are on the opposite sides of the spectrum of absolute evil and good. Humans are about on the center- note that this is basically an average of all human behavior before you start being a smart ass about Hitler and Stalin and all that. We know they existed, and they were horrible. People need to quit referencing those guys every time an assumption's made. Those are the extremes. We need to remember that.

"Demons, note the devils on the last of the spectrum, are probably at the midpoint between neutrality and evil if we ask Spirit World. In reality we're roughly the same place as humans are. Yeah, we all know what we've done in the past so we can't be egotistical about how great we are, but we're also no worse than humans. We just happen to have what they would call strange powers. Considering that we're basically just alternate realities, this shouldn't come as a surprise, which is also why most of us ended up in here. Well, maybe not you Minamino, but these guys at the top think you're on the edge of blowing up and killing us all. And anyway, they also have to be aware of any births in this world so they know that the children are brought up to standard and that it wasn't with a human if they're below an A class rank."

"...What's the point of that law?"

"...I dunno. I guess all you B class and lower people are a bunch of perverts and once you've had one human you can't stop...? But that's not entirely what we're getting at, are we? Basically, remember that demons are the equivalent of humans, whereas devils and angels are strictly spirits. They're so much so that even the spirituality aware can't see them most of the time. They tend to linger in this world from what I hear. If you've been in Spirit World enough times, you actually have a better chance of seeing them when they are on earth. Coincidentally, I have the ability to see these kinds of things, but it also has to do with my power level. Minamino, I'm pretty sure you can see them, with your background being what it is. I hear youko have the ability to see even through illusions. Hiei, you... I think you can see them as well since you're in possession of the Jagan. Go ahead, look around, you two. You are most likely unable to see anything out of the ordinary because angels and demons tend to stay home instead of wander on the earth and see what has gone wrong." She glanced at the clock. "Well, that's the end of that then. I've killed enough of your time so you better get moving. And the Colt... Please take good care of it."

-:-:-

Hiei opened the file that he had tucked under his arm once the plane had finally taken off, and the pilot and the flight attendant had finished going through the emergency protocol. He turned to Kurama who looked as if he was about to vomit all over himself. He stared at the other man under he stared back, still looking as pale as the sheets of paper in the file. "What's your problem?"

"I... It's nothing. Nothing at all," he replied at almost lightning speed. "I'm not sweating, and I'm not scared at all. What's in the file?"

"Whatever's wrong with you, it's not my problem."

"Oh, that's really polite."

"Yeah, well, deal with it. You're practically glued to the chair. If you're going to throw up, make sure you do it in the bag here and not on me." Hiei glanced at the man next to him and saw that he was too occupied trying to figure out all the applications his iphone to give a damn what they were doing. "Right..." He lowered his voice as he saw a stewardess pass by. "We'll be going off to Pine Barrens, New Jersey- that we were told by Mukuro. The thing we're looking for supposedly has a long neck with bat wings, hooves, tail and a head like a horse, and about three to seven feet tall. And why that would be any help, who knows. The legend goes something like a woman named Mother Leeds- there's always a Mother Leeds involved."

"L-like 'There was a man who lived in Leeds?'"

"What?"

"_There was a man who lived in Leeds who planted a garden full of seeds/ And when the seeds began to grow it was like a garden full of snow/ And when the snow began to melt it was like a ship without a belt/ And when the ship began to sail it was like a bird without a tail.._. Or something like that. There's more to it but..."

"Whatever you say." He glanced at the passenger next to them again. Now he was playing Pac-Man. Fascinating. Back to business. "As I was saying, there was a Mother Leeds who had twelve children. Apparently, when she was pregnant with the thirteenth child, she said it would be the devil. And the child was said to have been born looking normal, but changed to have hooves and wings and it left after killing the... midwife?"

"Midwives helped woman give birth and if need be care or the child, nursing and all that."

"Oh. Sure. There was also another version in which Mother Leeds threw it into a river because it wasn't beautiful. It depends on who you ask. Going by the first legend, the thing when up the chimney and started going around the town until there was an exorcism in 1740. It was seen again it 1890- so this says. In 1840 they blamed it for livestock killings (so much for 1890). There was another case in which a creature was found flying overhead. It was hit by cannons but it didn't even flinch. There have been a lot of reports of stuff like that. That and seeing footprints in the snow that just begin and end in random places. And there's a lot more but you should look at it yourself..." He offered the file to Kurama.

He looked even more pale. "I-I'll pass..." He leaned closer to Hiei. "So you think we'd really need the Colt for this?"

He sighed. "I don't know. She always does stuff like that. As long as it's really destructive she'll support the use of the damn thing. Don't know why Santiago liked her so much. She's so overdramatic."

-:-:-

As soon as they got off the plane, Kurama sat in the closest bench as Hiei looked around the airport, standing on the tips of his toes every so often in an attempt to see over the heads of other travelers. He glanced at Kurama and disappeared in the crowd. Just as Kurama was about to get up to search for him, Hiei was in front of him, a bottle of ginger ale in his hand. He took it without asking questions, but he thanked him anyway. Hiei continued looking around until he saw a hand waving around just outside of the waiting area in the gate. He motioned for Kurama to follow him and they walked to a couple, who vaguely looked alike.

The man had dark hair with a bluish tint to it, which stuck up straight in the air in boxlike spikes. His body was packed with muscles, though most of the bulk remained in his arms. The woman had fluffy hair, sticking out in random intervals on top of her head, while the rest was able to be tamed into a braid tied back with a bow as pink as her eyes. She regarded the two with a cool demeanor.

"You know, I was thinking Reeve was gonna be coming along, but that might just be me thinking in the past. I forgot that she got slapped with the leading position. She has better things to do to than watch you guys do your stuff... And I'm Kujou by the way," the man introduced himself. "Aono Kujou, these days, anyway."

"And I'm Aono Natsume. We run the Ketchum Department in this area," the woman said.

"Twins. We're inseparable. Anything that separates twins is evil against nature, you know."

"If you say so," Hiei replied gruffly.

"Okay, well, we'll be needing your names, since Reeve never actually told us who she's sending over. I think I've seen you before..." He pointed at Hiei. "I don't know where, but you look really familiar. Who are you? Are you a Vincent?"

"No. Not even close. Hiei."

"Oh. You look like a Vincent." He shook his hand and turned to Kurama. "And you, miss..."

"_Mister_ Shuichi Minamino," Kurama replied holding back a glare.

"...This is awkward."

"We should get going. I'm assuming you're just trying to get this job done, whatever it is," Natsume said. When she received blank looks from the two, she shrugged. "We put in a lot of requests for help here for various cases so we can't keep track of what we asked for. Some of them have even been sitting for months. We've even asked for transfers and not one person has come through, you must understand." They all went to the parking lot and got into their car.

As they got on the highway, Kujou asked them, "Where are you going then?"

"Abeson. It's in Pine Barrens," Hiei replied simply.

"Pine Barrens? That creepy place? Are you sure? ...Oh, I get it now. You're after that Jersey Devil, aren't you? Natsume, when'd we even send out a request for that one?" His sister shrugged. "Can't believe we even sent out for that one."

"Why, have you investigated it yourself?" Kurama asked.

"We haven't been established here in New Jersey for a very long time like your guys's. I believe yours was established in the late forties or fifties. We've decided to focus on more practical things like tracking down criminals, when we can. The Jersey Devil hasn't been causing anyone any extreme harm or been behind any killings that would know of and thus would be nothing that could be of any interest. Mostly it's a nice story for the tabloids," Natsume replied. "But we would like to close this one in the case that it might lead to something dangerous. You can never be to careful when devils are involved. I don't think anyone besides ourselves has to ability to see such things, either. I should hope that Reeve made sure you two can at least. Otherwise, we're undermanned in more ways than one. We can't go out there and do field work, either."

"Yeah, I mean, even though we've had this place in the works for years... No one really came in to take the leadership opportunity. So the criminals here were usually sent off to be reformed somewhere else because we can't even get enough people to handle just the cases themselves. You can see why I we need people to call just for something like this. It was more to cover all our bases before we get in some deep shit, this case was," Kujou added. He glanced at the pair through the rear view mirror. "Plus, I've heard some really good things about you guys over in California. And everyone always said you guys were lazy."

-:-:-

Once they got settled in a hotel in Abescon and started getting things ready for the morning, the phone rang. Hiei answered it with a clear look of dread on his face.

"Hey, I just remembered something. I could've told you earlier but I couldn't reach you," Mukuro said.

"We were on a plane. They don't allow phones to be used on a plane, remember?"

"So they could charge you more fees like being a few pounds overweight. Though for you, you might just be taking up someone's seat. Kurama could have put you in his pocket and not even known it the whole way. But I'm pretty sure they do allow you to use phones once you've reached a certain height. But that's not the point. I'm giving you three days to close this case."

"Three days? That's all?"

"You've been doing so well with your timing so I figured you've finally learned to get right to business. ...Or maybe Kurama's pushing you. One of the two. By the way, you haven't been plotting ways to murder each other have you?"

"No."

"I thought he would be a good guy. I'm glad you get along."

"I guess you can call it that."

"Well, I wish you all luck, my dear. By the way, you can't get an STD from a toilet seat, always remember that."

"Stop that and don't call me-" She already hung up. He cursed in his native tongue. "Three days. And here's day one. And then the third one would be leaving this place. How does she expect is to get anything done in one day or two... Either way..."

"Didn't you read the time we were expected back?" Kurama asked, now flipping through the pages in the file. "It's actually four days counting today. And well, that means she's got faith in you, that's for sure. More so than myself. She's more concerned in you getting things done than myself."

"...It's not like that. I don't like her but I don't hate her either and if she feels anything like that then she probably would have said something about it before. If anything we're just roommates."

"I didn't mean it that way, Hiei."

He shrugged. "I don't even care anymore. When I first showed up in the army everybody looked at me funny and started saying stuff like, 'Are you that Heinrich guy?' And immediately after that came to everyone's attention that I looked like him, except for the eyes, some jack ass from the Kremlin comes over and tells me that I can't get married or anything like that. Then once I made it to First Sergeant the Lieutenant comes over and offers to make me the new General. Didn't think about it before but it was just to use me to their advantage. Basically so they could make a better connection with Germany, a couple of years before the damn place was split in half. And then after that they told me to have as many damn kids as I want so they could use them, too. And I already know that was the case cause they kept introducing me to a bunch of German women, completely forgetting that they had already checked that issue and they already didn't have to worry about me bringing spawn to this world. But I guess no matter where you go, there's always going to be a way for the people in power to use each other to their advantage..." He stared at the wall blankly. "Even _them._ With them being in isolation all the time you would think they'd be free from all that dominance and censorship bullshit. But none of them know or if they did, they wouldn't care. There can never be utopias. No matter how much we want it, we can't live without having what everyone else has too..." He clenched his fists. He grumbled something under his breath in his native tongue.

"...I... Guess I said something I shouldn't have. I was just joking. Didn't think you'd react like that."

"Sure. You know, you don't make any sense. A cold blooded thief and then you go and apologize over a stupid joke and a person ranting on and on. Would've thought you'd slap some sense into me or something. Or at least tell me to stop bitching."

"Eh, well, times have changed I guess." He shrugged.

"...If you're afraid of going on planes, I guess they have."

"Hey, there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that."

"I don't care. You're still a pussy either way." Hiei glanced at the clock. "It's getting late. You should get some sleep."

"You're right." Kurama sat on the bed, noticing Hiei was propping himself in a chair next to the window. He slipped himself under the curtain to look out. He came back under, swatted the dust off the curtain, read the time off the clock and then went back under the curtain. You're not going to rest too?"

He sighed and came out from under the curtain. "I can't sleep at night. I don't know why. Usually just sit around and stare out the window even though there's nothing to see most of the time. This is one of those times. Can't see shit out there right now." Don't know what Mukuro does to sleep. She's seen plenty of shit, and you can tell. But I guess only the privileged can get a good night's sleep." He continued staring at the wall with the same dreary look.

-:-:-

Kurama could have sworn he woke up at about two or three in the morning (only a guess though, since he didn't open his eyes to check the time) with something heavy placed on his chest. It felt an awful lot like it was a pile of thick books (the first thing he could think of to describe the weight) but it was slightly rocking to each side. He started to make sense of the weight. He felt legs hanging off the sides, and a pair of hands resting on his chest. He felt something rough brush against his cheek and a light breath near his ear, the scent reaching into his nostrils, stinking horribly of sulfur and rotting flesh. One of the hands brushed his cheek. Then the other grabbed his chin as though inspecting him. Kurama wanted to open his eyes, but he found he couldn't move a single part of his body. It was as though he was frozen. It breathed in his face again, and the weight shifted down his body, down his legs and off his feet. The thing moved down the foot of the bed and stayed there until there was a thump on the floor. The thing then moved out of the room so quickly that as soon as the weight left the bed, he heard the door slam shut. Kurama opened his eyes and saw nothing. He felt around on the bed for any trace left by the creature that was there moments ago but found nothing. With more than a little reluctance, he dismissed it as a strange dream and tried to go back to sleep. He couldn't remember the dreams that came after that visit.

He woke up at about nine o clock that morning and saw Hiei sitting at the foot of the other bed, half asleep. He glanced at the clock and mumbled something about finally getting six hours of sleep.

"Oh, you're up. You know you sleep like the dead? I woke up at three thirty and found out that I fell off that chair. I was surprised that didn't wake you up. Then again, you were groaning in your sleep too. It sounded really disgusting..." Hiei yawned.

"Yeah... I guess I do that," Kurama replied hesitantly. He remembered the dream he had.

"No, I meant it like you were in pain. Like you were..." He stopped, struggling for words for a moment. "Like you were sleeping on something sharp and it kept stabbing you, I guess you could say..."

"Bad dreams. That must've been it. Haven't had one of those in years." He felt a droplet hit his head and another. He waited for the drop to roll down quickly, but it only slid slowly. He swiped the area and glanced at his hand. It was blood. He looked up. There on the ceiling was the twisted and torn up body of a woman somewhere in her mid to late thirties with her throat and chest torn wide open, her stomach torn apart from the esophagus. Her intestines stuck out from under her skirt, swinging in the air. Her hands twitched and then her whole body convulsed as her wounds grew larger. Her eyes opened wide with terror and her mouth was stuck in an inaudible scream. Her mouth grew wider and wider on her face until it touched her ears. Her jaw hung as wide as a door swings, flapping open and closed, a mockery of laughter. The ceiling grew into a wider scene. A dark cabin room where the woman lay in the middle of the room, being torn apart by a baby. A large woman with unkempt hair tore at her clothes, and her hair.

She shrieked in a shrill voice, "You are not my child! You are Satan's work! You are not my child!"

The baby looked at her. One eye bulged from its socket while the other rolled back further into its skull. Its mouth was set crookedly on its face and its nose was long like a beast's. He hunched his back as knobs started to protrude against the stretching skin until it tore for slimy wings to come out. He waved his hands around to reveal its three extra fingers, two on one hand and one on the other, and all of its thirteen nails equipped with nails growing quickly into a quarter the size of its fingers. Its toes were all fused together. They hardened and made clopping sounds when they hit the ground. The baby rocked side to side, hands bloody. It smiled and crawled to its mother.

She grabbed a log of wood and hit it over the head until she drew blood. The baby was unconscious and she grabbed all her skirts and wrapped the baby in it. She slipped out of her dress to ensure she would never have to wear the devil's blood again. She ran through town, her legs and nethers aching from the birth. The villagers watched and gasped at her nakedness. She ran as fast as she could as they threw rocks at her. She reached the river and threw the baby into it. "I pity this lake that must take the devil spawn. Go back to hell."

A man from the village grabbed her by the arm and took her back. She was to be shamed as punishment. She was to be hanged...

"Oh. The ceiling's leaking." Kurama jumped at the sound of Hiei's voice. "What're you getting scared for? The thought that you had to go on that plane again finally occurred to you? Actually, I would be surprised by water hitting my head all of a sudden, too."

"Yeah..." Kurama shook his head. The images swam through his head again, "Say, you didn't happen to hear a door slam or someone come in at the middle of the night did you?"

"What? No. You sure you're feeling alright?"

Kurama went into the bathroom to change his clothes. When he looked in the mirror he saw a grotesque face before he could make sense of the image, it disappeared. _It's jet-lag. Probably. When you don't get enough sleep your head plays games with you.  
_

There was a knock at the door. "When you're done with that, we have somewhere to go. I was rereading the file last night when I woke up. Remember when I told you that other story that involved a river? I found the place and apparently there's something in the water. I didn't get it. I was half asleep when I read it. Looks like this'll be our first stop."

He couldn't help but dread the trip.

-.-.-

After five minutes after they were on the road, Kurama heard three consecutive knocks on the roof of the car much like when someone knocks on a door. He didn't think anything of it. He sight blurred and he saw they were driving down a tunnel that reminded him of looking down the throat of a hungry animal. He heard the sounds of people moaning and shrieking. The sounds of fire crackling. The smell of burning flesh, shit, and sulfur came back to him. There were bodies dropping from the sky and...

"You feeling okay? You're really starting to..." Hiei struggled with the words again.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"How much sleep did you really get last night?"

"Enough." The knocks continued again. He shut his eyes. _It's trying to communicate with me. Why? Whatever I do, I have to make sure I keep my distance. If it is a devil, it will do whatever it takes to get me to go back to wherever it came from, whatever it takes... and whatever that means for me and it._

They arrived at the river after forty minutes. They got lost along the way which was mostly credited by Hiei to the extremely poorly written directions he took off the internet and to which Kurama credited mostly to his inability to remember his right from his left.

"I feel something here already. I have the feeling that this thing comes here a lot." Hiei looked around the area just to make sure the coast was clear. He nodded to himself, sure that there was nothing in the area. He turned around stared at Kurama, who wasn't moving. "You're shaking now. Are you sure you're okay? If you're coming down with something, you better not give it to me. I haven't been sick in the past five years and I'm not breaking that streak."

"I haven't gotten coffee today, that's all. You know how caffeine headaches can get," he said.

"You sound like Mukuro. The people at these coffee places must know her by first name by now. I don't know how she can stand it."

"Er... Right. By the way, when you said you never got sick, does that count colds?"

"I'm from the Soviet Union. You think I'm going to get a cold?"

"Never mind."

"Okay. One of us should go in the river, and the other one should stay behind just in case the other gets trapped or something. I think rank decides that one."

"Don't abuse your power by using it to show off your power." Hiei looked as if his brain broke with that comment. "I think we should play a game of Janken Pon."

"Play what?"

"They call it Rock-Paper-Scissors here." He held out his hand, fingers together. "Paper." He made a fist. "Rock." He made the peace sign. "Scissors. Paper covers rock, scissors cuts paper and rock smashes scissors. Simple, right?"

"Scissors can break a rock, and what makes the paper think it's won the war just because it covered the rock? The rock can tear the paper when enough force is applied. This is a stupid game."

"Let's just do it." Of course Kurama ended up losing to Hiei's scissors. He walked into the river with dread building up in his chest.

"Don't go in too deep, it'll suck you in. That's what the file said, anyway. It said it was an urban legend, but at this point we should be careful anyway. Looks like any hunch will do now."

"If you knew that, why didn't you just go in?"

"Everything would look too deep for me. You should know that." There was a rustle in the bushes. He turned to them, hand on the hilt of his blade. "There's something there. Dammit, why didn't I bring the Colt?"

Kurama looked down at his reflection in the water by some strange impulse. _There's no reflection in here. I need to get out of here. Right now... _He turned around to start walking out of the lake, but he saw two large red eyes staring up at him. His body was frozen in place again. He struggled to move, but something was freezing himself there, staring into the eyes in the water. Those... peaceful, calming... No! Not... _Don't tell me..._ "Hiei... I think I..." He started feeling like he was about to swoon.

"Damn, it's just a raccoon. Get out of here." He kicked a rock at the it as it ran out of the bushes and away from him.

"Hey, I think..." A hand reached out from the water and grabbed him by the ankle before he could get out of the water. Hiei ran to where he was and searched.

"**What the hell...?**" He dove with little hesitation and came back up just after he remembered his own warning. "By that doesn't... Why didn't I get trapped under too? I guess I have to..." A few bubbles rose to the surface and he smelled something like rotten eggs. _Sulfur...? But... _He saw Kurama resurface a few feet away. He grabbed him by the arms and pulled him to the shore. "Minamino, what the hell was just...?" He was sure he saw Kurama's chest moving so he was still breathing. He turned Kurama's face to be sure that he really was breathing but he saw the whites of his eyes were the only things showing. His eyes were rolled back into his head.

**/And there was none.**

Notes:

**And so the prophecy came true. And no CPR scene for you so he can sing, "Staying Alive" or "Another one Bites the Dust" or "Row Row Row Your Boat". Or so you can twist it into "Hot man love" later to be "Hot nekkid man love". (Not really.)  
****On a less disturbing note...** **Yes, the Jersey Devil was on the X Files. It was great. I really thought The Colt was a real item so I used it. Yeah, I was wrong. The tale of the origins of the Jersey Devil were pretty much all I came up with online but I remember little about the river one so that's cloudy. The demon-devil stuff and the dimension stuff gets explained later... And in Japanese culture, apparently idiots don't get colds. So... Just think on that one.****  
****On that long author's note... I bid you farewell for now. (Reviews make numbers look cool.)  
****Much love, JC.**

**(edit: The city of Abescon was used because Pine Barrens isn't one city. It's an area that covers a huge chunk of New Jersey. It was a city that was mentioned a lot on one site.)  
**


	10. Through a Crack in the Wall

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: T__his lady isn't a original character. She's one of those girls that appeared on one page of the manga and even then you won't have a clue when that is because that was late in the series. But she's there. And YOU won't think anything of her, my two readers... No, there's more that that... (Chapter 172, page 10, the one on the right)  
_

Chapter 10 Through a Crack in the Wall

That woman with the black hair and horns sticking out of her temples walked in that day. She looked familiar, and not just because the horns looked too much like Yomi's. She practically kicked down the door to the office and tottered her way awkwardly on her high heels, obviously not used to walking in them (or, option B, she had been walking a long distance and wasn't used to doing that much walking in her heels). She almost tripped over the long skirt she wore that reached her ankles and it was painted on her starting from just below her asscrack. When she leaned in close to Mukuro's face, she saw the finer features- a face covered in thick layers of makeup three shades too light and ostentatious for her skin tone, the eyebrows tattooed on, and her hair which looked as if it where glued flat against her head under a thousand layers of gel and a fog of hair spray. She smelled terribly like sweat and body odor covered up with perfume. (Hell, you could practically see a mist of the damn stuff floating around her.) She knew she had Mukuro's attention, slammed her hands on the desk when Mukuro went back to her computer after the door shut with a thundering bang. She still didn't look at her. Much like a child trying to get a parent's attention, she shoved the papers off the desk. Mukuro finally looked up at her, cocking a brow and then looked down at the papers that were knocked down.

"What is your problem? Pick that shit up," Mukuro said.

"Bitch, I'm not doing nothing for you," the woman replied.

"Then, don't knock it over if you don't want to pick it back up. I would also appreciate it if you didn't break the door or the desk. I have to work here." The woman was staring at her. She shuttered and felt a headache starting to come on. Why? She rubbed a temple, shutting her eyes. Something flashed across her eyes and she opened them. She looked back at the woman again. "Well? You have any business here? Otherwise, you should just leave instead of wasting your, and more importantly, my time."

"Is this that Lovecrafter's HP place?"

"This isn't a porn shop if that's what you're asking me. There's a Suzie's if you drive three blocks away from Cannery Row that I'm pretty sure fulls any of your... Needs." She made shooing motions. The woman stepped closer and took Mukuro's chin so she could look into her eyes. Shit, those eyes... She's looked into them before. She's touched that... Mukuro swatted her hand away. "What the hell is your problem? Get out."

The woman grabbed Mukuro by the collar and pulled her closer. She didn't give the woman a chance. She brought her other arm in the woman's direction, balling her hand into a fist on the way to make contact with the woman's face. The woman dropped to the ground. She stepped over the desk, hand on her hostler. The woman stayed on the ground, crying over the inevitable bruise that would be on her face. Mukuro knew it would be worse than that. It would turn into a black eye. Actually, she was lucky she was still conscious. The woman looked up at her, malice in her eyes now, she stood up, hand raised to slap Mukuro, who sighed and roundhouse kicked her in the ribs so she would drop back to the ground, taking more than a little satisfaction in hearing some ribs crack. The woman curled into a ball, moaning and cursing under her breath in French.

Mukuro dropped to one knee, gun pointed to the woman's head now. "Try one more move on me, and I will put a bullet into your brains. You hear me? Now, you're going to tell me who sent you and/or your business in this building." The woman glared at her. "You wanna play this game with me? I can still kick harder, you know that? I've been known to dent cars and break down doors with just one kick and with only fifty percent effort."

"You are such... A little cunt... You're still the same. I know it's you."

"Explain."

"Fuck... you." Mukuro brought down an elbow in the small of the woman's back. "Oh my god! No one sent me, okay, you bitch? I went here on my own. That's all I'm telling you." Mukuro raised her hand again. "What's this place called?"

"It's Lovecraft. You know what we do here?" Mukuro took a paper from the ground and a pen and dropped it by the woman's face. She stood up, still holding the gun at the ready to make another kick if needed, and stepped back. She went to a more diplomatic tone, "You need to fill out a form before you even get your problem investigated. And that would take some time to find after your case gets mixed with everything else. We just go by urgency of the situation. Just write your name, surname first, and then give a brief explanation of your problem."

"Fine. I'll play police with you then." The woman tried to get into a comfortable sitting position but only managed to sit in an awkward squatting position. "What if I can't give a brief explanation of a problem?"

"Just do it."

"What's a surname?"

"Just put your name. I'll figure it out."

She moaned, mostly because of pain and also because of frustration, as she wrote, sounding out everything as she did so. "Um... Chih... Err... Ee... My problem... Um..." She took a brief glance at Mukuro. "Yee-ooh..." She held it before her eyes.

"I have no idea what you're trying to say. I don't speak gibberish."

"Why the hell did you ask me to write it then? Quit screwing with me."

"I believe you're the one that needs to quit doing so with me."

"Shit, what, cause I'm not a man in bed with you." She looked into Mukuro's eyes again. "You're trying to hard not to remember. Oh god, you're trying so hard and failing... I'm Cherie, and you should know that after the number of times I had to put my hands on you. And you're my problem. I can't even sleep until I know you're out of my life."

"I have lots of people that hate me and would take pleasure in seeing me brutally murdered. What makes you any more special than them? As far as I'm concerned, you're just a sad excuse of an assassin for someone with the most petty of grudges."

"You know what? I'm fucking tired of your bitch ass looking down on me like I'm just a pile of shit. Okay, so I was sent to go see something myself. See one day Daddy was just fine and then he just starts talking about his daughter he misses and I asked him about it like who she was and then he said something about a little one. And I got to thinking and thinking and thinking, what the hell did that mean? And then I remembered that nasty little girl Daddy was always going on about. The one he always liked more than me."

"How does this concern me?"

"Stop. Just stop this innocent act. I know that you do remember all of us since you're the favorite. So I know that if I say anything about it, you'll come and take Daddy away from me just like you always did. I heard there was this girl in this place that's supposed to be the hottest girl any human's ever seen. And that's when I knew I had to look just to make sure."

"Okay, well, telling about this- whatever it is- is just as bad if I really were like that. Which I'm not. Who knows what made you think I'd just cut in on someone like that. I'll make sure I'll stay away from him. And to clear up any misconceptions, I actually hate the attention I get. But I guess it comes with the birth certificate, doesn't it?" She sighed. "So that's it? You're just some jealous girlfriend that wants to make sure I stay away from her man. It can't get any more petty than that. Rest assured, I will not put my hands on anyone's man. Now will you get the hell out?"

"Not going nowhere til I get an answer to my questions." She glanced at the book shelf and was attracted by a book with a plum spine. "Ooh! I wanna read this one!" She reached for it and grabbed it from the shelf. As soon as she opened it, a look of disappointment crossed her face. "What the...? You read this crap? Where're the pictures? And what's with all the huge words?"

"Pictures in books died when we were all around the age of ten. For the record, I've never read many of those. They're mostly psychology and true crime. Besides that, I know everything that I need to for this job so far..."

"Psychocology? You're smart." She snorted at the last word.

Kirin walked in at that moment but stopped to stare at Cherie for a moment. Okay, more than a moment. He was eyeballing her. Mukuro sighed. _Great, so she's one of me, too. _She cleared her throat to make sure Kirin wouldn't continue to trapped under the woman's aura. He shook his head, went back to his business, and asked, "Reeve... You don't happen to know where Zamyatin is...?"

"He's in New Jersey at the moment on a mission," Mukuro replied. He cocked his head questioningly. "Request from the Aono twins. They're short staff. Needless to say, they're glad I sent Zamyatin out."

"That explains Minamino's absence."

"Why did you want to know?"

"The Colt's missing from the closet. I wanted to find out who walked off with it. Shouldn't have anyone touch it. Don't want it falling into the wrong hands."

"Sure, if anything disappears, blame the communist. I know we fought in Korea, but I'd forgive him just for being born in the Soviet Union. He also believes in the good kind of communism. What, don't look at me like that. I don't like communism, but I have to live with him so I have to be more open minded." She shrugged. "Now about the Colt... I was searching for something the other day and I do remember moving it. I might have taken it out and forgotten to put it back. Yes, as I do recall... I'm sure that's exactly what happened. Too much going on in my mind at the time. Don't worry about that. I'll find it."

"Sure..." He stopped before leaving the room, making sure he was out of the woman's field of vision and pointed at her questioningly. Mukuro shrugged again.

"Ooh, so you're still getting laid, huh? So all that bull that you pulled was nothing back then, huh?" the woman asked. She started trying to wedge the book's corner in between Mukuro's legs.

She took the book and kicked the woman's arm, bending the elbow in the wrong direction. Mukuro dropped to her knees, staring into the woman's eyes, using the compulsion to keep her quiet until she righted the bending. The last thing she wanted for everyone in the damn station to run in. "I've had enough of your bull. Just tell me what you want, you whore."

"Ooh... I'm _so_ scared. Goddammit, you're so boring. You have nothing that I want. I mean, your face is screwed up even before you threw shit on it. You're hair's an ugly color, though I thought it was so pretty when it was darker. You're tiny and you look older than dirt even though I'm older than you. Not by a lot but I am. And then you're all military. No one wants to be anywhere a soldier anymore. Actually before people started thinking they were asses they were already nasty. Don't know what those humans see in you. Then again, one of us... We'll make anyone get em up, won't we? Even if we look like a dried up hag even when you..." She started cackling. "Hey, maybe that's why you're doing a commie, cause he doesn't know any better. Bet he's nasty looking too. Or did you pop his cherry so he doesn't know better? That's it, isn't it? Popped his cherry." Her laughter came to an abrupt end when she saw Mukuro coming over to make another blow. "Quit your damn China man moves on me already. If you really can't remember then... Then... Remember when you touched that one girl and you freaked her out by looking in her head and then you kept doing it all those times? You knew that Daddy was gonna do something to you cause you saw it in her head? Do it right now." She held out her had. Mukuro didn't touch her. "Do it!"

"I don't want to catch the syph."

"Oh, shut up, and do it."

Reluctantly she grabbed her hand, though she was already dreading what was going to happen. She was flooded with memories and the same face appeared in all of them. The balding man with the grey mustache. His skin was a sort of dirty white like the fading paint of an off white wall. His cheeks were wide over the fat cheeks which rolled over the corners of his mouth like the gills of a goldfish. He had an extremely large belly, large thighs and legs like a newborn baby. Throughout the images there was the same gleeful look on his face (and a few times she heard the squeal like a baby's). Hanging overhead and staring down at her. His eyes were blue. The same shade... Shit, shit, shit, SHIT. The same shade shit shit shit the same shit. His hair used to be a bright shade of auburn seen in between the grey of his hair. It was the shit shit oh fucking... It was shit shit shit... She immediately let go when she saw the beginning memory of him commanding the girl and another to do some obscene act. Mukuro practically slammed her head on the desk.

Cherie giggled and dropped the book. She grabbed the corner of the desk and hoisted herself up. "Like I said, you stay away from Daddy."

"What in the name of anything holy makes you think I want to go back to that godforsaken whorehouse! You get the fuck out of this office or so help me I will rip out your heart!" Cherie giggled again and walked out. Mukuro swallowed vomit down her throat. No, she didn't think she was going to hold it back. She crawled to the trashcan and heaved into it. Her head was pounding. She wanted to kill him. Stay away? Fuck th-

But still... The field. He took her out of the prison one day and held her up in a way she didn't remember. Let her piggyback ride on him. He made her a daisy chain and put it in her hair. And he said... She leaned back to the trashcan and heaved again. She didn't remember eating this much.

"Hey. Hey, hey... Mukuro..." Fingers brushed against her shoulder and she twisted around, holding the gun out, finger on the trigger. Kirin was crouched next to her. He backed away. Shit, she didn't even hear him come in. He stepped to the desk and took a tissue and handed it to her. As she wiped the dribble and the chunk of whatever bile mixture off her chin. "I heard some crashing and then what sounded like you... Well, you know. I wanted to make sure you were okay. She didn't slip anything on you, did she?" She shook her head. "You look like a damn ghost. You sure you should be here at work?"

"Kirin."

"Yeah?"

"Can you leave? I've got a horrible headache, and I think I need to sit in silence."

He nodded. "If you need anything, make sure you let me know. And if you need the rest of the day off, I'll take over no problem, okay? I'll pick this up."

"I'll get to it." He shrugged and left the room. She sighed, put her head in her hands. _Jesus Christ, what the hell am I going to do? Should I leave the city? The country? Maybe I should just go back. Haven't been in a hundred years... And they seem like they need me back. Me or... Damn him. _The phone rang and she snatched it. "What?"

"I haven't even said anything yet. Calm down," Hiei said.

"Oh... Right. I just have a really bad migraine. You would-" She froze, feeling her eye spasm for a moment. "...You wouldn't welcome a phone call if you had one either. What do you need?"

"...You should take a medication for that."

"I've been getting along fine without needing medication. Don't forget that you also refuse to take any meds too. Now stop stalling and ask me whatever it is that you're going to be asking me."

"Kurama got knocked out or something. He was pulled in the river by something and when he came back up, his eyes were white. I dunno what to do about it."

"His eyes were rolled back, you mean?" She added more to herself, "That's impossible though. He's already occupying a human body though. There can't be another one there... About that- is he moving at all?"

"No. Not even twitching. Are you talking about possession?"

"Yeah. But that's really strange. If it's a true possession, he should be looking like he's having some kind of a seizure at the least. ...He's not even talking?"

"No. Nothing. He's just sitting here drooling like he's brain dead or in a coma or something."

"I can't give you a straight answer right now. Could be a delayed reaction, I suppose. He told me something about him coming into a human before it was born. I don't know if the souls were able to merge together if the soul was there at that point. I haven't heard of a case like this before. In fact, I don't think a human and a demon's souls are even compatible with us being from different worlds. If there was no soul in the body, then I would be able to make more sense of this, but from what I'm understanding, he must have come into that body late in the pregnancy. I'm thinking the souls were unable to completely merge and in a case like that then that would make him appear to have MPD. Actually, if he _is_ possessed, then that would probably cause the soul- or souls- to become more unstable. That's all I can say about that."

"Okay... So what do I have to do?"

"I dunno. Do an exorcism or something along the lines of that. Something that would rule out the possibility of a possession. Wait... Did you see any smoke? Smell sulfur? Any weird noises? Or any creature that looked at all abnormal, even for our standards?"

"Smelled sulfur."

"Okay, that might be... You haven't used the Colt, have you?"

"Haven't even touched it. I don't think I have it with me right now."

"Idiot. That's the point of having it. Keep it with you in case you really need it. But on the other hand, I suggest that you put some gloves on or something when you use it. I didn't give it to you loaded so you have to do it yourself. I was actually counting on Kurama using it. He has human hands but there's a small chance that he'll feel any after affects or if he'll even get as bad when he loads it. But then, there's that demon side..."

"Quit beating around the bush and tell me what you're gonna tell me."

"Well, if you touch it with your bare hands, it will actually burn your skin. I didn't even think about it, and it burned my hands. I could see my skin sizzle when I touched it. Not something I'm completely new to, as you can tell, though. I'm sure you don't have any gloves, though. I should have mentioned it earlier. I wasn't exactly counting on having you use it."

"I don't have any fingernails and more scars than I can count or even make sense of. I can take a burn."

"I'm sure. But don't use the Colt if you can help it. It's bad enough it's in your hands, but if you use it enough times, Spirit World's going to know something's up. So far they still haven't finished investigating its whereabouts."

"Why did you give something like that to us?" He paused, as though realizing his voice was raised. Actually Mukuro wouldn't have minded if he got hit by something if only to have him stop talking so she can have this headache go away. His voice was softer now. "I know. You know if you keep repeating yourself like that, people'll stop listening."

"Yeah. I'm sure of that too. Keep an eye on him. Anything else to report?"

"Cayenne pepper."

"What?"

"Headaches get better with cayenne pepper. I have something in the drawer of my desk that you could use. It's some herb from the Otherside. It can cure anything, so I've been told."

"I'm not drinking alcohol. I... I have something here I can use."

"Just don't give yourself a tumor over it."

Mukuro stared at the phone. _Do you know, Hiei? Or do you know where I am right now...?_

-:-:-

Hiei hung up and glanced at Kurama, who was slumped over in the passenger's seat. His head rolled over to his left shoulder, then switched sides with every bump. Just as Hiei was sure that he wouldn't make any other movements, Kurama sat up straight, though he still had the dazed look on his face. But his irises were back. That was an improvement, at least. His mouth hung wide open, spit slowly dripping out his mouth.

Feeling a bit stupid he grumbled to him, "Close your mouth. You'll swallow a fly." Hiei continued driving for a few minutes, then growled and pushed Kurama's jaw up, catching the tongue on his teeth. "Damn you, put that back in your mouth." He thought about what he was doing again and shook his head. "Why am I so st..." He knew the other man was still drooling. He tried really hard not to think about it or the drool that got on his hand.

Kurama lifted his right hand and started slamming on the window, still starting straight forward. He other hand reached over awkwardly without turning his body and tried to push the door open.

"The door... What am I saying...?" He reached into his pocket, flipped through a few of the dog-eared pages of his notepad and saw the address to the station. In about ten minutes, he pulled up to the parking lot and got out. He paused for a moment, locked the doors and went inside. Immediately he was greeted by Kujou.

"Himmelstoss. So you've already gotten into a jam? Where's your partner?" he asked.

Hiei was appalled, feeling the blood rush to his face and sure that his face was as red as a Coke can, he growled, "I'm not Himmelstoss. I'm not even German. You're not close. I'm Zamyatin, get it right."

"Oh... I thought your name was Himmelstoss because I remember it starting with an H. So you're... H... H... I'm horrible with remembering names."

"Hiei. Enough about that." He groaned. "Listen, we need an exorcist or something. My partner might be possessed."

"Might be? He is or he isn't. I leave you alone for a few hours and you already f-ah... Not really. Well, you've already made a huge mess, how's that sound? Quit biting your lip, you'll make it bleed and that's just disgusting. We can fix it." He looked out the window and raised an eyebrow. "What is he...?" He practically kicked down the door. "You. What're you doing over there? Are you drunk or something?"

Kurama looked limp but he still continued to take large steps, his eyes and mouth still wide open. Looks like he evolved into door opening.

Hiei said, "He wasn't moving like that a few minutes ago. For a while, he wasn't even moving..." He shook his head and grabbed him by the arm. Kurama tried to tug back and pull away, but he was too weak to overpower Hiei.

Kujou came and got Kurama in a headlock. He took a look into his eyes. "Yeah... I think he might be possessed. Disregard what I said earlier."

"Get him trapped somewhere. I don't like where this is going. I know he'll find a way out if he keep him in the car."

"I'll lock him in my office. Tell me what happened."

He sighed irritably. "Look, we were at the river investigating this stuff and then he went in the river, something grabbed him and pulled him under. He came back up but he ended up like this."

"What were you doing over there in the first place?"

"I thought you knew the legend."

"Bits and pieces. I'm not a native either, you know. I remember something about a thirteenth child but the rest didn't make sense to me at the time... Wasn't there a bad movie about that thing a while back?"

"Uh... Well, there's this part of the legend that says something like the child wasn't beautiful and got thrown into the river... Or something like that. That one looks like it's pretty close to the truth right now. Or the damn thing likes being in the water."

"Okay, so let's say he is after beautiful people. Why would it go for Minamino instead of you? I'm not a girl or anything but I think I'd rather be seen with you. With him it's like a beauty contest. It'll be sad when a boyfriend's the prettier one."

"I'm not even five feet. Lesser of two evils. And I'm not pretty."

"Hey, so that means in the state of Texas, you'd be considered a 'little person'."

"And in Texas there's also George W Bush and people on death row actually do get executed- what's it matter? What're we going to do with this then? I'm not coming home with a zombie partner. Reeve'll make sure I join him... In a state of zombie-ness anyway."

"Yeah, that's true. Always been like that. From all those meetings I've seen her, I really get that vibe from her. Probably why she gets along with my sister. They're pretty similar I say. Or she might just be sick of living like everyone else that gets up to a thousand."

"Someone... Did something to her. Don't ask me what it is, cause I don't know and even if I did know, she'd kill me for telling you too. She gutted a guy so I doubt she'd feel remorse for me. I just know that... That's not important. Don't know how Santiago was able to stand it."

"Sa- Oh, right. Are you sure he it wasn't that he was too busy dreaming of retirement that he didn't care about anything else...? Say, you ever get word from him? He promised me that when he gets home to Nuevo Laredo, he'd get us a bunch of postcards and candy for us but he never did send us stuff."

"I was wondering that too. Unless he realized he didn't remember anyone's address without having it written down in front of him. And he said he would come back and visit us when he gets the chance but that I understand. Texas and California aren't that close. Well, no one here would be willing to allow him to come back. But for some reason, I want to say I remember him saying when he goes he would never come back and would never want too... But that doesn't make sense. He wanted to keep seeing us... Like the dogs..."

"Now that you mention it... And what about the dogs?" He shrugged when Hiei didn't say anything. "Back to the case now. So let's say you are right and this thing isn't possessing him and it's actually trying to take him away. What're we supposed to do?"

"You should know. You're running this place."

"Yeah, I've dealt with possessions but not with whatever it is is going on. Shoot, you have that Jagan thing, if anything, you should be a master of manipulation."

"Not really."

"The only way I can figure is that we get rid of the thing. I don't like the sound of this at all. Go where a devil wants, and well, you're done for. That is if that's even what this bastard is. I'm thinking it might just be a vengeful spirit. It's weird that this is happening now all of a sudden. He can't be the best looking guy that's ever stepped foot in Pine Barrens."

"I really don't know. Got no judgement really. Or maybe he's got some sort of allure to him that they like. By the way, you don't have a window in there, do you?"

"Oh, crap, that's right...!" He opened the door and there the window was wide open. He smacked his forehead with a fist. "Natsume and Mukuro are going to kill me."

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:  
****Um... The only thing I see here... Himmelstoss was the corporal from All Quiet on the Western Front. Loved that book. Nuevo Laredo is in Mexico, almost right on the border. I have family over there. It was the first place I could think of... ****  
****Much love, JC.**


	11. Ending of a Horror Story

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Note: By the way here's some pointless details you would all enjoy: Hiei was playing Pac Man, They ate at Burger King, Mukuro's from Ontario (not really referenced I think but probably might be at some point), Kurama's hair in this story is BLACK, how do you like them apples?, Hiei really is half German, Shura isn't really his name but Shura comes from his real name (and this can be a fact), Italians are from Italy, Kuwabara is not six feet tall. And no one here will aspire to create a porn video game (30 Rock reference)_

Chapter 11 Ending of a Horror Story

It was about six o clock PM. Downtown Abescon. Natsume happened to be walking through the arcade, occasionally looking around as if she were expecting some axe murder to come and attack her. She was technically off duty, but she really didn't want to be seen wandering around such a place. But damn it, she really wanted to kill some stress. She practically tripped over some twelve year old boy playing a zombie shooter game when she saw a familiar face. She did a double take to make sure her eyes didn't deceive her. Then again, how many Russians are even in this state?

Hiei was standing in front of a videogame, obviously lost in his own world. "Look at that fat pie. It can't eat all those balls and that fruit. Stupid fat ass pie... Oh shit, that ghost's going to eat it? How do I run again?" He started frantically mashing buttons. "You dumb ass pie, run!" Unfortunately, Pac Man did not seem to be as tuned in to the survival of the fittest and died. "...Times like this I really do believe Darwin." He started to look for more quarters.

"You!" She advanced on him and grabbed him by the arm. He stared at his arm until she let go. "And just what are you doing in a place like this and at this hour? Shouldn't you be working on your investigation right now? Where's your partner? Does he know you're over here?"

"Depends..." He turned his back to the game and pretended to be mildly interested in a couple of guys tripping over each other while playing DDR. He sighed and pushed a couple more quarters in the game. "What are YOU doing here at this hour? Shouldn't YOU be working instead of playing video games? Considering that you're severely undermanned, I'm pretty sure you have little space to be lecturing me on focusing on duty."

"True... Very true."

"That being said... This conversation never happened. We never saw each other tonight."

"No, it did not. But do make sure you finish your investigation. I wouldn't want Reeve to be frustrated with us for not keeping you two in line. Well, maybe not frustrated..." She shrugged and walked away.

He turned back to the game. _She killed me. Damn ghosts. Why can't they make their own pies and eat that instead of eating one that's happy and cleaning their homes for...? Dammit, think. Get it straight. _He smacked himself on the forehead lightly to avoid hurting his Jagan. He did an about face and walked out. _How's she expecting me to finish this when I don't even know where the hell he is? He doesn't look like it, but he can move pretty fast. Hell, he could of already gone to the river and... I... Failed._ He swallowed a lump in his throat but smacked himself on the forehead a couple more times. _No. I didn't. I can't fail. That's not an option. I'll go and drag that asshole out of hell if that's what it takes to get this thing closed. So that settles it, I'm jumping in the river and..._ His phone rang.

"Hey, it's Kujou. I was trying to find that river and couldn't find it. It's like a crack in the wall or something."

"Get directions off the internet or something. I found it easy and I'm not even from this state," Hiei replied. He leaned against a wall, which happened to have a large sign screaming Do Not Loiter.

"Yeah well, I couldn't find it. Who cares? We don't have to worry about that. I found our lost boy even without going to all that trouble. He was passed out on the side of the road. He's lucky that I saw him first. I'm pretty sure the real cops would pick him up on suspicion of being drunk and I don't even want to think about what kind of trouble that'll stir up. Got him locked in the backseat right now, but he doesn't look like he's gonna be waking up any time soon. And when I saw his shoes, they were pretty muddy so I'm assuming he made it there. The guy's dry so I don't think he actually went in. Might've finally snapped out of it. I hope so. Or maybe he's just too damn lucky for his own good. Should have him buy my lotto tickets, before he goes. I dunno about you, but this is getting too weird for me. If you deal with this stuff like this on a daily basis, you people in California are crazy."

"What, you don't?"

"I thought so. Listen, meet me at the station in about half an hour. We'll figure out what to do about Minamino. I would actually prefer that we keep him at our place so we can all keep an eye on him if he starts up again. But that all depends on how he feels. Can't force it on him to, you know..."

"Yeah, you do that." His mind turned to the Colt. "If we go with your plan, I'll keep an eye on him since I'm his partner. I never sleep at night anyway. You guys don't have enough men to take care of it anyway."

"Fine by me. You should have some warm milk before bed if you can't sleep. Kind of have the same problem, believe it or not and it knocks me out. I saw this thing on the internet that says it relaxes you system or something..."

"That's really disgusting." He hung up. He looked from one side of the street to the other in thought. He shrugged and decided to make the first stop the hotel for the Colt.

-:-:-

Kurama was sitting on the bench when Hiei came in. He looked completely worn down- his eyes had dark circles under them as if he hadn't slept in days, the whites of his eyes were covered with veinlike red lines rapping around his irises like spiderwebs. His face, though already pale, was white as a sheet of paper. Though his lids seemed to droop, he managed sounded extremely alert. He picked a few leaves and twigs that got on his clothes and in his hair as they spoke to him, crunching each one with the curling of his shaky hands. Looking down at his shoes and the hem of his pants, Hiei saw that there was a thick layer of mud, which broke off as he got to the bench he was sitting. Out of habit, Hiei pushed the bits of mud to the side as though sweeping with his shoes. When Kurama noticed that his partner was walking toward him, he turned to him and smiled meekly.

"Looks like I was gone a while. I thought I was only under for a few minutes, but the next thing I knew I was being told I was found lying on the side of the highway," Kurama said. He turned back to Kujou. "About that... The last thing I remember was walking into the river and being pulled under. If I did anything else, I don't remember. It might come to me later." He mumbled to himself, "It usually does."

"Nothing? Not even something pointless like if you ate something?" Hiei asked.

"No. Like I said... Actually, now that you mention food... This kind of thing happens to me every once in a while. Unless you can tell me anything else, I won't be able to tell you if I even walked into a tree a few times. Just getting pulled under the river when we went to investigate."

"The only stuff I can tell you is that you were knocked out when you came to the surface. When I drove you over here, you started doing weird stuff like you were trying to get out of the car. Actually you did manage to get away when I got you here. Your dumb ass conveniently remembered how to break open a window and how to run once our backs were turned. We don't know what the hell you were doing. Just figured that damn thing was trying to take you away for some reason. I called up Mukuro and she couldn't give me a straight answer either."

"Why would it try to take me away though? Why not you as well?"

"Remember that thing I mentioned on the way there?"

"But that can't be right. There have to be people in this place that are a better choice than I am." He looked at Hiei up and down and shrugged. "I'm no judge in that sort of thing, honestly. But let's say that's the case, my next question is- why now and why just me and not a local?"

"That we don't know. But I'm guessing that you might have a nice presence. Part human but part demon. It's like trying to bring in one of your own. Or close enough." Hiei paused. "Unless..." He sighed and mumbled, "Unless you had a traumatic experience with your mother. It just wants to take advantage of that and promise to make it better through and through. Not to worry about that sort of thing. That stuff is their specialty if we're gonna have to believe Goethe."

"Hate to break it to you, but I love my mother a lot, and she's doing really good. She accidentally- er, maybe not... She has scars on her arms from a long time ago... I caused that when I tried to get something that was out of my reach. I broke a lot of glass, but she happened to fall in to protect me. And when I was fifteen, I almost lost her to cancer. But really there isn't anything that bad... But the way you're saying it, it might make sense for it to be you. Especially if that's what it's over. Or... Ah. No, forget I said that. Let's think of something else."

"No, it's alright, didn't know her well, but I know her voice and such. Just kind of... **Oh, fuck it. **I don't know. I'm going outside for some seconds." He walked out, slamming the door behind him.

"That was awkward. Actually, I like the track you're on with this one. Because it's that Mother Leed lady, right? It has to have something to do with mothers and sons so your looks have nothing to do with it. Nicely done," Kujou replied.

Nastume said, "The idea that the devil's attacking someone who had a traumatic experience with their mother, while it is a valid point, it still doesn't make much sense. Don't you think there have been more children who had traumatic experiences in this town as well? Unless you want to take on a case of learned helplessness or Oedipus Complex. But even then that doesn't add up. What I know from the legends, I think it involves someone who has a deep relationship with their mother, and that's something you've managed to achieve, Minamino, and from what I'm guessing, that's what Zamyatin lacks. I'm not sure whether your appearance has anything to do with this either." She noticed Hiei slipped in at that moment.

"Okay, other than that, how're you expecting to close this case?"

"_If_ it can be closed at all." The other two jumped at the sound of Hiei's voice. "So what're we doing with you, Kurama? We have to make sure it doesn't get you for real this time."

"I don't think I can stay here all night. I'll just go back with you. If you don't want me disappearing, I guess you could lock me up somewhere."

"I just went through telling this guy that I'll keep and eye on you if you think you should stay here. Like I said, I don't really sleep."

"Yeah, you sure you don't want to stay here? We can keep someone over here if..." Kujou asked.

"No, it's alright. I doubt I'd have another problem."

"Okay. But if something else happens to come up, don't hesitate to tell us. Can't afford to act like we can't pull it together because we're still new here and we have enough problems keeping up with the other departments in the country. That and Reeve'll slaughter us if her men end up missing." He shrugged. "So I'm locking up. You got my number so call if you need something. Don't worry about the time, either, Zamyatin. I know this is some serious stuff we're dealing with here, and I already said I'm pretty much an insomniac. I got all the supplies you could need sitting at the house." They nodded and parted ways.

Kurama followed behind Hiei, and they walked into the car. After sitting for a few moments in silence, Kurama turned to Hiei, "Hey, are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. Perfect. Just perfect. What's got you asking?"

"Well, you usually shove the key in like you're in a hurry. You haven't even taken out the key. ...And I know this is a bad time to ask but... Can... Can you even see the road?"

"What the...? What kind of question is that? You know, people don't think so because you just smile like you're a pretty person or something, but you're a dick."

"Now, are you saying that because I always am or because I asked?"

Hiei shoved the key and turned it so hard, he thought he bent the key for a few seconds. (Of course, he didn't check. If he bent the damn thing, the people at the rental would have to deal with it. _How's that for having a nice goddamn day?_) They started driving to nowhere in particular- anywhere was fine, just as long as it was away from the river. Hiei started tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, tapping a toe as he habitually did. He turned on the radio, leaving it at the last set station, which was playing nothing more than static.

Through the static, a voice said, _"We will soon have you. You will soon be at peace."_ Kurama turned to Hiei, who didn't seem to have heard anything. He looked back out the window after switching the station to some top forties hit station. (It was the first one that came out loud and clear, though Kurama wasn't sure he was up to hearing an incomprehensible rap song.) He looked out the windshield before something skinny and tall stood in the middle of the road. Hiei slammed on the break but they still hit it. Hiei pulled off the road, turned off the engine but left the lights on. He looked under the car, but there was nothing.

As soon as Kurama stepped out, Hiei indicated for him to get back in the car, mouthing the word Cat. As soon as he got back in the seat, he started to feeling a sting in his back, in random scratches it felt like. Beginning light, then getting stronger, feeling more and more like someone was ripping the muscle and tendons apart with a small razor blade worked by slow hands. The tips of his fingers started throbbing, pounding, and his wrist felt like someone sliced it with a knife. He could even feel the blood running on his skin, though when he touched it there wasn't any there. The voice said, again, in the voice of Nickleback, _You feel the pain of the empty. You understand what others lack..._ The pain in his back started to intensify more and the throbbing in the tips of his fingers started spreading under his nails. It felt like it was thousands of times the pain he got that time he lifted his nail a bit lifting a biology book that slipped out his hand. He looked down at his hand and saw the nails starting to lift and go down like a opening and closing beak, his wrist pulling apart horizontally. He put a hand on it to make sure it was an illusion.

"Hey... Where are we going anyway?" Hiei suddenly asked, breaking his mumbling in his native tongue.

"I don't know. You're the one driving," Kurama replied. They passed under a streetlight and Kurama caught a glimpse of Hiei's hand, still tapping on the steering wheel. "You have no nails."

"No, I don't." Flatly. "Why'd you mention it all of a sudden? Thought if anyone was any good in making conversation, it would be you."

"I just noticed and was curious."

"Just noticed? Are you kidding me? People shake my hand, and then they don't shut the hell up about it." In a perfect American accent, he mocked the common response, "'Oh, does it hurt? You poor man. Those Soviet bastards must have done it. I hate those assholes. They should nuke themselves and destroy socialism while they're at it. My pity will make it ALL better.'" He grumbled under his breath in his native tongue again. "You know, you go without nails for so many years and you stop noticing how painful it is. All I had to deal with was not being able to scratch someone's eyes out. Really, why do we need nails other than for that?"

"How'd you lose them?"

"They tore 'em out. Took a pliers and put 'em on the edge of my finger- got a bit of skin sometimes- and then they just pulled and tore them out from the root. Burned the wound to make sure that it wouldn't grow back. Could've sworn that I could see my bones sometimes. That's what you get for being a private... That and I refused to give information about that damn Sergeant Keren- No, that's not important at all. Why am I telling you this? The point is that they tore 'em out and it hurt like a bitch."

"Just wondered. God..." Hiei looked at him like he was crazy and then went back to focusing on the road, looking even more melancholic than before. Kurama glanced at his fingertips and only saw the shining of a dark liquid. He put on in his mouth and tasted the saltiness of blood. _I didn't cut my hand on anything. I would have noticed before..._ "What else did they do? Do you have anymore wounds?"

"Tell me how many of those weird dark spots whatever they call 'em you have and how many birthmarks that are the shape of countries first. Why do you want to know? You're asking too many weird questions. What's bringing this all on? I thought we had this talk in the beginning that we're not gonna learn each other's life stories. No point in it. Unless..." He turned to him, looking a bit worried. "You're not coming on to me, are you?"

"God no. I just wanted to know more about what it was like. I secretly always had a fascination with the military, and if we're not gonna talk, might as well feed that curiosity."

"Yeah, World War IV and V were all fun and games. If you think so, well, screw you. Go read a damn book, call Mukuro up if you want, I don't care. She fought in both world wars and the Korean war, so she has plenty of things to tell her. Just don't cry when you find out your people made her do some crazy shit when she was a POW." Kurama fell silent. "And tell me what you wanna eat."

"Wait, wait, wait, you're at four and five already? We haven't gotten to three here, as far as we know. Not that I ever kept track either way." He took a tissue from his pocket and wrapped his fingers in it. That should keep the bleeding down. So, it looks like it's trying to torture me somehow. But why does it have to be...?

"Hurry up and decide. I'm getting hungry."

"...I'm not hungry. Not anymore."

"Too bad. You're eating something since you didn't eat all day apparently, and you said something about wanting food a few minutes ago." No answer. "Don't tell me that hitting that- that thing was enough to kill your appetite. I didn't eat either I was..." He suddenly remembered the videogame. "I was busy all day so I didn't eat. And that won't do anything to me."

"I don't care. Doesn't matter to me. I'm just worn out from whatever happened right now. It just hit me" He heard some words in the back of his mind- not so much heard, but more of sensing it. There was fear in it, pleading for something... But what? It was fading out at this point. It doesn't look like Panic! At the Disco was going to be possessed, either. He refused to think more about it. He managed to hide the blood on his hands, wrists, and back (so he suspected) because Hiei was to preoccupied with other things to even notice. They came back and he wrapped his fingers in some toilet paper and wrapped his hands and wrists in a shirt. He rolled over and went to sleep his back aching.

A few hours later, Hiei looked at the clock. It was midnight. He turned to Kurama. _I wonder what his problem is. Kept asking about my hands... _He rubbed his thumb where a nail used to be, shuddering at the raw, sensitive feeling that remained there, and walked to Kurama. He took one of his hands and unwrapped it carefully. There was blood gushing out of his fingers and his wrist. But there were no wounds.

He wrapped it up and went back to his corner. _What the hell is going on? I'm... This is what happens when I'm sober and not getting sleep._

He shook his head and walked to the dresser. He pulled out a pen and started writing his report. His mind slowly began to turn away from the writing. The pen was kind of heavy. Black inked. Or maybe a dark blue. Yeah, could be a dark blue. A really dark shade of violet actually. Can't tell the difference between purple and red and yellow and orange and blue and green and twelve o clock becomes one a clock in a minute and five in four not five in five. The last thing that was on the paper was whatever happened to drip from the pen what kind of name was Jersey anyway it's like where the salmon play in the oat fields and the cat playing the fiddle and the sea and the spork and the peanuts and sometimes it makes no goddamn sense and

"_Kid. How old are you? You're thirteen, I bet. Where's your mother?"_

"_Where's your mother right now, Lvov?"_

"_I don't know. She's out there somewhere I guess." The tips of his hands were throbbing. There was blood splurting from his cuticles. The sergeant was putting his lighter to his fingers. He grit his teeth to keep himself from being weak and screaming. Didn't want to lose now. If he screams, then they'll start taking the whole finger. He'll be beaten. He'd even heard of them taking poles and ramming it inside. He saw the pictures of those whose intestines leaked out their anuses because of such treatment. He lived long enough. He lived through THEM. He can survive this. He can fucking survive this.  
_

"_Well that's just fine, boy. Now she won't have to find out she wasted her time on a failure like you. Spent nine months with a piece of shit like you inside her. But you got that from your piece of shit father. Lazy ass like him. You have any sisters?"_

"_That I do not know... SIR. But if they were here, they would be as disappointed as you, but not as much as my mother. I never knew my father but if I did I think..."_

"_So you understand? Failure is not an option. Next time you fail a mission don't even bother coming back and don't even think about letting anyone see you again. You drink some cyanide. Take your rifle and get yourself in the face. Take a knife and slit your throat. You get my drift, if that German blood didn't make you completely brain dead. You get me, PRIVATE? You better. Or do I have to pound it into your head? Eh, PRIVATE, speak up you mutt!"_

"_Hina... Oh no, you're in pain. That's a bad sign. It must be a boy! No one feels pain until they give birth. Oh, please. We have to do something about it!"  
_"_No. I think you're wrong. Maybe he'll be a nice boy if he is one at all. He won't be trouble. Maybe he's just excited and wants to come out and see the world as soon as possible."  
_"_Sure, but that's not how it really is."_

"_The only way you can get away from anything is to keep them quiet..." Splitting of the mind. Being trapped staring at the bright light. Blood running across his face. Mother. Sister. "Please don't! We can leave! Please don't do this! That's my baby!"  
_"_You know our laws, Hina. And you broke one of them and the most important one at that. You have to pay. Baby girls are our sisterhood. But boys... Abominations! And you know what we do to boys? Remember what nasty, horrible little boys are made of...?" "No! No! No! Please don't! Don't do it! No!"_

_The dogs the dogs the dogs the dogs the_"_You done good, Private. Guess losing all those nails and getting all those beatings finally got into that thick head of yours. But then again a sorry ass mutt like you would never understand, right, PRIVATE?" Stupid son of a bitch. they're here the dogs the dogs at your  
_

_Listening to a lullaby. Sister there. Splitting pain in his head. That mourning's first drill and the deep wound... hitting the bottom of the river. Free falling. "What's with the kid? He's so..." d"Some guy's kid. Can't remember his name but the thing looks just like him, don't he? Aren't you glad we didn't kill him? He's our little cash cow here. Give him over to the Germans but for something a little extra. And they'd want his eyes..." "Nice eyes I guess. Don't have judgement. And I think his name was something like Heinrich Reinhard. Some translator." o"Real important my ass."_ _"Apparently he's that other guy's assistant. That one guy. With the same name... Can't remember." "All their names sound the same to me." "Where'd you find this kid? They'd probably ask us a bunch of questions to make sure we didn't steal him from anyone." "Why would you steal a kid? That's so...!" "Found him in that river." g"I saw the thing hit the water. Sittin' there for a few minutes and damn near shit my pants right then and there. Looked at it. Was THAT." "Fall? From what? Nothing's over here that can be dropped." "Wasn't there a plane or something in the sky? There was something like that..."sssssssssssssssss_

"_Yes sir, you're right, sir." She was screaming. She sounded like her voice was cracking. It was like nails on a chalk board. And there were several women pinning her down. Watching her baby die somewhere in Poland. Just bombed the place. Walked over to a corner where his platoon wasn't at and puked. Probably should kill her and take her out of her misery. His sister was in Rui's arms for a moment before she was given to a reluctant woman. She cried and the sound of her mother's hysterical cries. I'll kill them all... I'll kill them all if she's not there. I'm burn their whole goddamn city and rip open that cunt for what she did..._

_AND THEN WHAT? What else then? If she's not there... "Hey. You've been sitting in that spot since the last time I was here. That was yesterday..." _

_..._

"_You know if you have no where to go I can take you to California with me. You can go on your own when we get there." ...She had the same look on her face, didn't she?  
_

_Shit!_ Hiei sat up, his eyes wide open. By habit, he jumped to his feet and went straight to attention. When he loosened his stance, he saw his paper was drenched with spit and the ink from the pen was smeared (though he could clearly see at what point he fell asleep by where a long line scored the paper). He did an about face and looked at the bed. The sheets were practically torn right off and Kurama was gone. He cursed under his breath and took the Colt from under the bed. His clutched it in his hands. They started shaking. He opened his mouth and pointed the barrel in... _How long was he gone? What am I doing?_ His threw it on the ground, picked it back up again, shoved it back in the briefcase and shoved the whole thing under the desk. _Sergeant Kerensky isn't here anymore. And thankfully he isn't. That asshole blowing himself up was the best thing he ever did in his useless life. And if he didn't, I made sure that he wouldn't be able to show his face anymore. This isn't the mission I can't fail. This isn't over. I know where this thing is taking him now. For sure._

He fished the briefcase out from under the desk and ran out. He bumped into the maid and was still there long enough to hear her scream and faint at the sight of blood. No time. He ran to the river and waited for a while. He walked around for a while, looking for any signs that someone had been there recently and, unsurprisingly, found none. He could run faster than a car, and Kurama was nothing, considering his human body. He sniffed the air and got a huge whiff of sulfur. _So she wasn't kidding._ _Then that must mean I can't take care of it myself. Might as well get the Colt ready._

He felt some warm breath on the back of his neck as he took the Colt out. He turned around as he loaded it, only to be kicked in the face. He clutched his nose as it started leaking blood and he looked at the face of the devil. The horse faced thing, just as it was said to be in the file. It jumped on his chest and again on his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He curled over for a few moments. The world started spinning. _Shit... This is the last time and place for me to start having an attack like this..._ He started searching for the bullet again in between heaving. His hand closed over something and he heard a low sizzling sound. The hoof slammed on his hand.

He looked up at it again, and the devil looked down at him. The horse-like features were fading slowly. It was starting to look more like a man. A man with deformed features, an eye larger than the other, one sticking out bug-like and the other sinking in the socket. The cooked mouth and mismatched ears. He was nude, his foot now on Hiei's hand. There was a rustle in the bushes. Kurama. _Bastard moves fast when he wants to. _Kurama's glassy eyes turned to him. The nude man looked at him and smiled. Hiei pulled his hand towards the gun and quickly shoved the bullet in, trying his hardest to repress the pain. He knew his hand was bleeding.

The nude man looked down at Hiei. _"Hey mister." _He had a child's voice. _"Mister... You wanna play with me and mama, too? I brought a little brother home. Mama's gonna like him. You wanna be my friend? Be my first friend either?_"

_What in the hell? _His hand didn't leave the trigger. "Depends. What kinds of games you wanna play?"

_"I dunno. No one ever played with me in the hundreds of years I've been helping mama find a boy to be her son, but she didn't like the others. Hey, mister. You wanna be my brother, too? We can play. Forever and ever and ever."_

"What...?"

_"We can be friends and brothers. I can see it. I see everything. Your mama tossed you, too. And all you want..."_

"Shut the fuck up!"

_"Mister, don't say things like that. I'm a little boy. Come on. Play with me."_

"Hm... I'll take your offer, kid. But I can't wait to see your mother. Let's say we play a game now. You ever play... Cowboy and Indians?" He raised the gun. The man stared at it, confused and intrigued. "Or Cops and Robbers, they call it now?"

_"Oh boy... I've never heard of that. How do you play?" _

"Easy. I'll be the cop. And you be the robber. And here's the part when we..." He pulled the trigger and shot the man. He looked down at the wound.

"_Mister... What'd you do that for... Oh it hurts... Mister, why'd you do it, it hurts, it hurts, OH MY GOD IT HURTS!" _He shrieked, clutching the wound. The area was filled with blinding light. Hiei shut his eyes, tried to pug his ears, but even that wasn't enough. The man had his hands on Hiei's neck, cutting off the airway. He felt himself drop on his face to the ground. _Oh god..._

-:-:-

He woke up in the same position the next day. Kurama was laying face down at the edge of the river, his lower body in the water. The phone rang one more time. He took it out of his pocket on the final ring. God, his head was pounding. "30 missed calls," it said. Damn it, he wasn't feeling up to it. It rang again and he answered wearily, "What?"

"I called you twenty times already. Why didn't you pick up? I just got the weirdest feeling probably twelve, fifteen hours ago and I got some reports of some strange sounds, strange lights or something out by the river. Haven't had time to investigate, but I was sure you were on the scene. I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything crazy. I wouldn't be able to face Reeve if her ex-partner got himself killed along with his new one. And on top of that I might lose my job if they care about you guys."

"You know they don't, Aono. This case is pretty much done. Minamino got himself lured..." He glanced at him. He was still knocked out. Hiei pulled himself up, grabbed Kurama by the arm and pulled him away from the water. "But I made sure that he won't get lured away again. Case is closed."

"Wow. Been about three days since you started work and you're done. I'm really impressed... Especially since you tended to slack off, I've heard from several sources. Wish our guys were as good as yours. But they got Reeve around and I heard she got to be lieutenant or something three times in a row and she was supposed to be a different person every time. So I'm sure she can whip anyone into shape if they need it." There was a long pause. "So you closed it, eh? What was the verdict then? Hoax? Animal? Demon?"

"Human."

"Hoax, then? Hate it when people..."

"No. He was a human. Emphasis on the 'was.' He was a devil, but... It was a human rejected from his mother. And all he wanted... All he wanted was her love, took it to the extent of going to hell and trying to keep people there. From what it told me, this really wasn't the first time it happened. But that's it. He's been banished from this world. For better."

"What a world we live in, Zamyatin. Can't really love your own mother until you see someone else who's got it worse. The things we do for love, it's insane. Can even drive us insane. In the end, we just have to look elsewhere until we get what we can get for what we need." There was a long silence. "Guess it's time you go on your way. I won't have to see you off. I'll put in a good word for the both of you. You'll never know when you need it. Best wishes. Minamino's good, right?"

"Perfect."

"Take care of your rookie, man. Later."

He glanced at Kurama who was starting to stir. "I'll report back to you in about an hour. You still want that lotto ticket?" He hung up once Kujou was done cracking up, and turned to Kurama. "Hey. You up?"

"I guess... I feel like I've got a hang over though... Ugh. It did it again..." He sat up and rubbed a temple. "What time is it?"

"Don't feel too bad. I got it taken care of. No thanks to you. Told you you're a liability. Don't you remember what I said the first mission we did? I won't cover for you if you're doing something stupid. You're lucky I was feeling generous." He found the Colt and put it back in the briefcase. "We're done here. I gotta report back to those guys and then we're getting the hell out of here."

"Were you right all along?" Hiei stared at him. Then he nodded. Kurama stood up and put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't happen to have Tylenol, do you?"

"I live with Mukuro. She doesn't believe in it, remember? And get your hand off me. I told you I'm not gay."

-:-:-

He flipped open the notebook and turned several pages, which curled over from all the writing on them. He wrote, "835 PM oct 5 08 I'm awake" He shook his head and crossed it out. _I didn't write that. Someone else had to._ He then glanced at the clock. "945 am oct 6 08 AWAKE details follow:"

He didn't know what else to put. Kurama sighed and put the notebook back in its drawer. He got his clothes together to get in the shower. For the slightest moment, he could have sworn he saw the silver haired man in the mirror. One day, the silver haired man would confront him.

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:  
****Learned helplessness is a theory on how depression is developed. The idea is that someone who repeatedly meets failure or rejection will become depressed. In this case, it has to do with the mother... And yeah... And Oedipus Complex... If you've read the play, you can figure you out. But for everyone else- Sigmund Freud (how I hate that creepy man) believed that children lust after the parent of the opposite sex. Oedipus Complex is then the unconscious desire for the parent of the opposite sex. And, no Hiei. Mukuro will tell you false information for the lulz while you're stumped on this in New Jersey. Stupid.  
****By the way, you'll notice later on if I do a bunch of dreams (There's only one for sure right now.) that I make them really weird. I'm pretty good with surreal stuff. Have you watched Cat Soup? Yeah, it's that weird. Freaking love surrealism. Oh yeah, and you see a lot this anti- whatever stuff going on here. It's not my opinion. They're all political and military people so of course they say stuff like that. Just to be sure that no one gets offended...**  
See you out there next time.  
Much love, JC.


	12. юкина YU K I N A

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: More random facts- Kurama's from Tokyo, he actually came to the states when he was twelve. Hiei was born in 1950- June 21. (I think June's a great time to have a birthday. You get Christmas presents in the winter and presents in the summer. You know, if you like that.) Mukuro's born in December 21. The two birthdays were not intended to be on the same day. Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Keiko are sophomores. Shura's a freshman. Santiago is really from Honduras. Kirin's Mexican. I have no idea why I made it that way. The military knows Hiei as Vladien Lvov, and he's usually called Vova, which for some reason is the short version of Vladimir. He picked that name off a poster. Most people have no idea why this matters. Spell check would change Tarukane's name to Gains Thyroxin._

Chapter 12 юкина (YU-K-I-N-A)

"Oh look, you decided to show up after your mission, Zamyatin. I guess this was a good mission for you, eh? And you did a good report for once," Mukuro said after filling her cup with more coffee. "It didn't sound like a bunch of sentences you slapped together. Actually, a bunch of words describes it better. I have to decode your stuff half the time. That or Kurama did a great job whipping you into shape... Eh, in that aspect, anyway."

"What do you mean 'in that aspect?'" Hiei growled, turning away from the bookcase, a book of Freudian principles still in his hand.

"You took longer than you were supposed to. I specifically told you three days and that should have been more than enough time for you to complete, assuming that you didn't slack off like you always do. Don't give me that look, you know that I know that you have that habit."

"One day off. That's all."

"One day is twenty-four hours, and that's three of the average shifts here. Three days was how long I... Well, you understand what I'm getting at."

"...Do you even know what an eight hour shift is like anymore?"

"Do you? With your Five Year Plan to be completed in four years? What the hell is that?"

"Stalin's an asshole to factory workers. That is all."

"Sure. I think everyone's agreed to that. Now, back to your report. I've noticed evidence of a significant time lapse. So you care to explain that, First Sarge? You better not have been playing pinball or whatever it is you do in the arcade."

"It's not pinball. It's the one where that fat pie eats the ghosts when it eats the drug laced pill and the balls and those fruits. I think that's the greatest thing that happened to this place. You don't have things like that where I come from. Give me some credit here. I finished the mission with flying colors, Kurama's sitting there perfectly fine, and there's no chance that anyone's going to be dragged to hell. It just so happens that the time lapse had to do with tracking Kurama down. I just decided that I could kill some time until he comes back."

"Hold on. While I was doing who knows what you were playing Pac Man?" Kurama asked. "Fishing for time or not, is that really the thing to be doing? Suppose I really did get taken away to hell, what would have happened then?" Hiei shrugged and started shelving books again.

"Do I have to switch your ranks? Not that is really matters here... But Kurama's gained more of a right to be a sergeant than you have and he's only been here for a few weeks," Mukuro said.

"Since when was I a sergeant?" Hiei asked.

"I guess, Santiago felt bad when I got his position so he bumped your rank to sergeant. And we see that you've shown your qualifications. Did you do this when you were in the army, too? 'Sorry, lieutenant, I would have killed that German man a couple hours earlier, but I was too busy playing around with a pinball machine.'

'Auch, comrade, but he breathed the air too long so do fifty push ups.'"

"No, I was a pretty good guy when it came to missions. The officers loved me even though I was what I was, but that's part of why I got to be a general. I hated it, though. I was one of the few staff members that went out and killed people."

"I'm sure you did. You're like the portrait of a Soviet military man."

"If I were a peasant, yeah, I would. Stalin was an alright guy as a person. I just wouldn't want to go to anymore of his parties. Because..." There was a knock at the door.

Botan rushed in with a tape in her hands, looking out of breath. "I have Yusuke's next mission on this tape. So could you have someone deliver it to him? That'd be great."

"Why can't you just give it to him and go back to... Whatever it is you were doing. You're already here anyway," Hiei replied, though looking somewhat relieved he didn't have to go through with the explanation of Stalin's parties.

"Can't do it right now. I'm in a real hurry, you see. Bye." She wiggled her fingers in a partial wave as she rushed out, a huge grin pasted on her face.

Hiei picked up that tape, eyeballing it in confusion. Even Kurama got out of his chair, just to see if Spirit World tapes were somehow different from those that already existed in the Human World. Looking at Mukuro, it seemed like it really wasn't, but it was amusing that their technology was still behind the times. Hiei's inspection looked more like genuine confusion. Then again, from what he remembered, Demon World's technology was more advanced in most respects and by now, tapes were the stuff of museum property. Hiei looked at Mukuro, still holding the tape as though it would break apart in his hands. "Hey, if I take this, would this count as redemption?"

"Yes, of course, doing a mindless task like walking a tape would automatically give you a clean slate. No, stupid, but I'll let you do it anyway so you can have some good quality time with that thing. Maybe you'll learn something about the olden days when we all had to write letters instead of calling everyone all willy-nilly with your new-fangled I-P3 players and M-pods." Just when Hiei was going to correct her, she went on, "I know what they're called. And by the way, thank you so much for reminding of that party, Zamyatin. Thanks to that, I'll never be the same."

"Oh. You're welcome." Smugly. Somewhat.

"You smart ass." Groan.

"Well... What's that writing on it? A secret code or something?" Kurama asked. He took the tape and inspected the writing. The first letter looked like an I attached to an O, after that a K, then a backwards N, an H and finally an A. "No wait. I recognize some of this... What language is it?"

"Russian. I don't read it, but I can speak it," Mukuro replied. "You got me on what that means. I'm pretty sure that backwards N is supposed to be pronounced 'ee.'"

"I got it. It says..." Hiei paused and his eyes widened. "...That's a lot of effort to write 'mission.' Must be a top secret one or something. Whether it matters or not, I'll take it. Yusuke's in school right now, right? Seaside High? Right, be back soon." He disappeared.

"Oh, but it matters to you. You're so transparent, Hiei." Mukuro dismissed Kurama. Before he left the room, she told him, "Be prepared for this to get more complicated than it needs to be."

-:-:-

"Yusuke, since you decided to be with us again..." Takanaka pointed at him with a bright smile. "You mind telling us about Patrick Henry?"

Yusuke sat up straight. _Crap. This guy must have a half asleep radar on him or something. _He scratched the top his his head in though, then crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling. He knew Takanaka was really eating this show up, thinking he was really rattling his brains for this one. Okay, looks like fun's over. Time to string off some random crap. "Patrick Henry? Wasn't that the guy that... Didn't he, uh...? Didn't he go hunting with some guy and accidentally..."

"That was Aaron Burr. Well, actually, he just had a duel with Alexander Hamilton. So really, it's better just to say Dick Cheney for that one. Whichever you prefer. Any takers now?" The door was kicked open. Everyone in the class turned around in their seats to see who it was. Yusuke could've sworn he heard a girl swoon and a few others gasp about how hot they thought the visitor was. Yusuke groaned when he recognized the short Russian man. (Though he would know that crazy DBZ hair anywhere.)

"Is there a Yusuke Urameshi here?" Hiei growled. "I have something for him." He waved the tape around. Everyone in the class turned around to stare at Yusuke.

"What? Hiei? What're you...?" Yusuke asked. He waved his arms around, mouthing, "Hello? Not a good time right now."

Too bad Hiei didn't understand pseudo-sign language. "There you are. I have this tape for you." He walked to him. "Well, quit staring at me. Take it."

"What? Can't this wait til after school? Read the signals here. I'm trying to be a good student for once, and then you just barge in here and tell me you have a tape for me? You trying to make me look like a delinquent and get me thrown in ALC? Don't you know that these things are against the rules?"

"What, you aren't already a delinquent?" Keiko asked sarcastically. She started eyeballing Hiei with deep suspicion.

"Yeah, I second that," Kuwabara added, jabbing Yusuke's arm with a pencil. ("Like you're any better..." Yusuke grumbled.)

"Yes, I would really appreciated it if you stop interrupting my lesson, sir," Takanaka said. "Could you please at least take this conversation outside? I'll have you know that we're extremely behind as it is."

Hiei glanced at the teacher. "What is it about? Are you talking about Dick Cheney? This is more important than him."

"No, I'm not talking about him. There are plenty of things in this discussion that could affect the lives of these students." Someone in the class giggled at the thought.

"I'll take this outside and knock some sense into him..." Yusuke got up and dragged Hiei out the door. Once he was sure the door was shut behind him and there were no security guards around, he growled, "What the hell's wrong with you? If it's about another mission, you better be quieter about it next time. I'll never hear the end of it if you do this again. Seriously, where's the fire? It can't be that important. I mean no one's dying, right?"

"Yeah, they are. They will. If you don't hurry."

He looked suspicious. But he saw Hiei was fidgeting more than he normally did, and he was starting to bite his lip. _What the hell is going on here? Must be pretty bad for him to be like this. But still... Something's off even for..._ "Did someone put you up to this?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, rushing into the room and practically kicking down the door acting like it's the end of the world... It's just not you. You're usually acting like you could care less."

"No. This tape's been sitting on that desk all week. It annoys me when things just sit there and don't get done. And for all we know, the worst could be happening or it has happened. That's it."

"Yeah, but even if that were true you still wouldn't've done what you did unless you know the person or something."

"Yeah, well, I don't!" He shoved the tape into Yusuke's hands. "Hurry up and do it!"

He stared at it. _What's with this writing? Korean? It looks kinda English though... Russian...? If that's not the best sign that this mission's personal for Hiei, I don't know what is.  
_

-:-:-

"Hey... Where's Zamyatin? He's been gone for over two hours," Kirin asked as he passed Mukuro, who was making a fresh pot of coffee.

Everyone turned to the Chief who looked up and gave them all a blank look. After turning it over in her mind for a few moments, she finally answered. "...Yeah. I don't think he's coming back. He'll come back when he gets hungry or something."

"What, is he a dog?"

"Says the man who told me not to feed him or he'll get used to living with me. I'm sure you know how dog-ish he is." Kirin sighed and walked away. _When it hits, it hurts, and it's not snow. Maybe I should have just had someone else do it. But then again... It really kills the fun that this could bring on. Probably makes me a bad person, but there's never a train wreck I don't want to see go down._ She went back to watching the coffee pot.

The door swung open and Yusuke rushed in with the tape in his hand, looking irritated.

"Don't break the door. We have to use that to come in here," Mukuro said without turning around. Apparently, she was more interested in the coffee maker than anything else. "Why can't anyone come in like a civilized person anymore?" She looked over her shoulder at Yusuke. "You're not going to try and kick the daylights out of me, too, are you?

"Wait, what? Am I missing something here?" Yusuke shook his head. "You're pretty calm for what looks like the ultimate meltdown of hell."

"The what now?"

"Hell's freezing over so fast that it'll melt your face off, apparently. And I'm gonna need to borrow your VCR for... An hour or something. However long this thing takes." He opened up his backpack and took out a tape. "Figured you might have one. I heard demons like keeping old stuff like that."

"VCR? Do people still have those? And what kind of tape is this anyway? If it's for school, I'm pretty sure they could just give you their VCRs."

"That's what I wanna know, cause it's the farthest thing from school, I can tell you right off the bat. But Hiei practically breaks down the wall and he was all," At this point, Yusuke attempted to imitate Hiei's voice complete with an accent that sounded more Spanish than anything else, "'Hurry up and take this tape. Someone's gonna die. Cause this tape's been here for a week and it needs to get done or I'll murder your face.' Really, if it were that damn important, Botan would've ran over and bugged me about it earlier. She always does if I don't get to my missions as soon as she gives me them. Like I don't have a life." Grumble, grumble.

Mukuro finally did an about face, sighing irritably. "He lied. Not that that's any surprise, really. You know him long enough and you'll realize that he does it pretty often. The past four days he was on a mission, and when he came here today was the first time I've seen him when he wasn't on an assignment. Three days before that was when you all were working on that business with Maze Castle, or getting it sorted anyway. There's no way a tape can come in with his knowing. Botan wouldn't have been as concerned about this if it was made in Maze Castle... Eh, you do the math. You're a smart, guy, right? Yeah, I'll take that blank stare as a yes. Other than that, I do get things done. He's OCD about getting things neat and organized, and I can't sleep if I don't have something urgent taken care of. I wasn't a lieutenant for nothing."

"Yeah. Doesn't look like you would do that either. Actually, you could've handed some of this stuff over to someone else, too. But why would he say something like that? I get that he lies, but why would he do that for something like this? Unless... Hey, you know a bunch of languages, don't you? You know what this writing says, right?" He held it up.

"I can speak it but not read it. It's Russian if you can't tell." She turned to the nearest person. "Oh, Minamino, you mind going through my desk and looking for a dictionary? It's a Russian dictionary. I think it's white. But you'll know it when you see it. Top drawer on the right... And there's nothing personal in there. Just a collection of dictionaries so you won't feel guilty about it." She did a right face. "I've got to find that VCR somewhere now... And a TV. Hang tight."

As soon as she walked into the closet, Yusuke heard the sound of shattering glass, a gunshot, and a screeching sound. _The hell does she have in that thing? Actually... Do I even want to know?  
_

At that moment, Kuwabara ran in. He looked around the room before finding Yusuke, who was sitting on the table, right next to the coffee machine, tape and backpack in his lap. He walked to him. "Hey, Urameshi. I had a feeling that you'd be in here. It took me forever to find you. I was lucky Yukimura was there to tell me you left the school. You really need to give me your cell number so I can keep track of you."

"That'd be nice if I had a normal one." He took it out of the small front pocket of his backpack. They both stopped when they heard the sound of a duck quacking following yet another sound of a gunshot. Kuwabara shot him a questioning look and Yusuke shrugged. He held up the cell phone. "The one I have does the numbers of the places saved on there. So if I had to dial 911, I would be screwed if that's the only phone around. Check it out."

Mukuro came out of the closet dragging a small TV on a cart with a VCR piled on top. "Could find almost anything in that thing. You're lucky Santiago was a packrat."

"Hey, I know you. You're that girl that was always with Shorty," Kuwabara said.

"Ah, Kazuma Kuwabara. The one who was always getting possessed. I guess you've been doing good the past couple of years? No more old women chasing you with cleavers?"

"What? Well, I've met Genkai. She really helped me out so..."

"I know who she is. She's a friend of mine, coincidentally. So what brings you here this time?"

"Well, Shorty, Henry, or whatever his name was. Can't remember..."

"Hiei. Strange name, isn't it? Wonder why he ended up going with that one of all things..." Slight shrug.

"Oh... Yeah... I saw Hiei run in class like he was on a mission or something to find Yusuke."

"Are you kidding? He always does that. Act like he's on a mission, I mean. You should remember that."

"Really? Cause I don't. Anyway, so then Yusuke takes off when class ends so I thought there was an emergency or something. Really, what's going on here?"

Kurama walked over with the dictionary. He had it turned to the first few pages of it. "I'm assuming that you're wanting the alphabet."

"You read my mind." She marked the page with her thumb and continued pushing the cart to the office. The other three followed her in. Once they had everything plugged in, Mukuro finally looked at the dictionary. "So to decode this... YU-K-I-N-A. Yukina."

"Yukina? What's that supposed to mean?" Yusuke growled, even more irritated than before. "Is that some kind of fancy word for mission or emergency or something?"

"Yukina...? Isn't that the name that Hiei says in his...?" Kurama stopped when he realized he thought aloud.

"What are you saying that he...? Don't even go there."

"Yes, Yusuke, we'll publically talk about a fifty-eight year old man's personal issues. So everyone can laugh and at the thought that even while technically being eighteen he still has wet dreams just like everyone else. Times like that I really remember that I'm in a room with high schoolers." Long awkward silence. "Yeah, that's what I thought. So without further ado and further disturbing details, let's watch this before we end up with Hiei the vigilante."

"Hey... I'm not sure I wanna take part in this one. I mean, we almost died last time..." Kuwabara mumbled. He was ignored so he decided he didn't want to talk for the rest of the day. Immediately, the screen was covered with Koenma's face and everyone except Mukuro jumped in surprise. Of course, she often noted that, "Once you live as long as I have, you'll stop being fazed by things."

Kuwabara was the first to recover. In fact, he nearly died laughing despite his internal vow of silence. "Hahaha. Your boss... Is a little baby? You've gotta be kidding."

"Yeah, it sucks. He never stops complaining about it, but at least none of my missions mean I have to change the little twerp's diaper," Yusuke grumbled. "Now, shut up, I can't hear him."

"Assuming that Botan DID give you the tape like I told her to, I hope you found a good place to play this. Actually, anywhere would do since anyone passerbys would just see this as a bunch of static. Humans anyway. Demons wouldn't be interested. Or not the ones you may be thinking. Anyway, I've given you a pretty light mission all things considered. This is a rescue mission. The place- a manor owned by a notorious Black Market dealer Gonzo Tarukane." The screen showed a stocky man with big coral colored lips and saggy cheeks that looked like they were ready to scrape against his thighs. His head was even abnormally shaped, like a hill with a cartoonish bump on the center of his crown. "In the past, he was well known for selling genetically engineered animal hybrids, but now he...

"Oh god. He looks so... Ugh... He looks like a real sleaze, all right. Actually, he looks kind of like that guy that they had on Family Guy... What was it? Jake and the Fat Man? Except he looks kind of more like someone's sack," Kuwabara whispered to Yusuke.

"Please silence your cellphones," Yusuke replied simply, pushing Kuwabara away..

"In his mansion, he holds captive a girl named Yukina- that's the name written on the tape, in case you were wondering. It makes for a good effect, doesn't it? He makes money off her by creating Hiroseki stones..."

"Those are worth hundreds of thousands over on the Black Market, too..." Mukuro mumbled, mostly to herself.

"And gets these through her tears. This is actually because she belongs to a clan of demons called Ice Maidens. Extremely rare off their floating called Koorime. The details are pretty shady on how it came about. Even Soviet records have little on the subject. Ask Hiei if you feel you need closure on that if you want. All that I can tell you is that it broke off some part of what's now called Sibera, around the Bering Strait long before anyone knew what Russia was. I'm sure that someone who lived in isolation like that must be extremely distressed. I have an image of her from certain sources..."

And there she was. Mint green hair loosely tied in a ponytail by a crimson ribbon. Her eyes were just as red as her ribbon, large and rounded like cat's eyes. Her skin was the same white coloring of a doll's and looked to be completely flawless. She stared out the window, hopeless until she looked up at the source (which by that time everyone knew was a bird based on the sounds of fluttering) and smiled, noticing its presence. Her mouth moved but they couldn't hear what she was saying. Kuwabara felt his face burning. He shot up in his seat and shouted, "Pause it!"

Kurama practically pounced on the TV to do so. "What is it, Kuwabara?"

"Geez, Kuwabara, it's not like she's gonna come out of the tape and kill you like the girl from The Ring or something," Yusuke growled. "I swear, are you this annoying when you watch movies, too?"

"That... That's not it..." He turned to Yusuke, who noticed at that minute that he was almost glowing in the dark. "We need to go. Now! Quit looking at me like that. She's trapped and she's suffering. I won't let this continue."

"What's your problem? First you were saying 'Oh I don't think I wanna go' and then all of a sudden you see her and you decide you wanna go out in a hurry?"

"I... I'm in love..."

"You're..._ WHAT?_"

"I have to go to the train station... Or bus station whichever one's fastest. I have to get a million dollars and go there right now." He practically kicked down the door and ran out. Kirin stood in the doorway and looked at the screen. Mukuro shrugged and he walked away from the door again.

"You're not going after him, are you?" Kurama asked Yusuke after a few moments of silence.

"Nah. He'll come to his house in two hours when he realizes that he doesn't even know where we're supposed to go. But I swear, this guy falls in love with every girl he meets. You know how many times he tried proposing? He's worse than the guy in _How I Met Your Mother._" He paused. "The nerve of that ass hat. So he did know this girl. He was lying about that, too. Shouldn't be surprised. It's his people, I guess."

"He's a master at the art. Can't blame him though..." Mukuro sighed. "What time did he come to you with that tape?"

"I dunno. It was fifth period. So it was probably... Twelve. Twelve thirty."

"We got this from Botan at ten thirty plus or minus ten minutes. He ran off with it. I'm assuming this tape's about forty minutes. We've killed roughly twenty minutes on this. So that would be... If he runs he'll get home at ten-thirty-two about. Plus the forty-five minutes is about eleven-seventeen. Plus five minutes if he wants to make it to your school, from what I'm guessing. No matter where he goes it'll be seven minutes at the most. That would be eleven-twenty. Then he had to search each building for you since I know he thinks he's too smart to just call you up front like a normal person..."

"Lunch is at eleven-thirty five. We come back at twelve."

"Short lunch. So he had to find someone that knows where you are. Assuming that they did tell him it would probably take him a while to find where you are. So..."

"You really amaze me. You're the first person that would be that willing to crunch numbers like that."

"Yeah, people tell me I should be an accountant or something involving math. Personally, I hate math but I'm cursed so no choice there. I think you should try and beat him there. He's really got no sense of direction, but that's no reason to take your time. I don't know what he would do. If he goes to far then..." She sighed again and shook her head. "And they're looking for a reason to... Ah, never mind that. So we'll be finishing this, won't we?"

-:-:-

"Great job, Kuwabra. You just wasted two hours of our time. Well, three counting in the time isn took us to get here..." Yusuke said with a smug look. He finished his can of Mountain Dew and crushed it under his shoe. "At least you got me a good drink. I'd say put on my tab but that's not necessary."

"Shut up, Urameshi. I didn't know where to go because you didn't tell me," he growled. He gulped down the last of his Pepsi, and glared at the crushed can. "And throw that away. You're contributing to global warming."

"Where's the trash can? You want me to walk fifty miles with a can in my hand? Some can collector's gonna find it someday and be grateful that you probably helped homeless one armed Joe pay for an Egg Mcmuffin. By the way, everyone knows global warming's a lie. You heard the president, and he knows what he's saying, cause he's the decider, remember?"

"You're stupid..." Grumble, grumble.

"You didn't watch the rest of the video. If you didn't just run out an did what you did then you would've known. But seriously, thanks for the soda, though. You don't know how long I've been craving one." _Actually on second thought, it might've been better if he didn't know. I mean..._

_("There's something important you should know about this case. It concerns... I guess, you could say it's like a personal debt you owe. You see... Yukina is also Hiei's sister, and well..."_

"_Roswell, JFK, Moon landing, and Deep Throat. Case Closed," Mukuro replied simply.)_

_But I wonder why he's so bent on finding his sister. Most people wouldn't care. Okay maybe not. But he probably wouldn't... Wait, he yells her name in his sleep... Ew, what if it's like THAT? Wait, that's just stupid. The guy's too smart to do that... Or he wouldn't do that. That's the point! And...!_

"Where's the freaking house-mansion-thing? I can't see anything from over here." Kuwabara whined. "Might take us til tomorrow to get over there. And I didn't even bring any food. Well, except this Snickers, but I think it's melted."

"Yeah. If we don't get lost," Yusuke replied. "If we still don't make it and we're still starving, I call eating your ribs."

"You're sick. How can you even think about... Here's something for you. We won't get lost. I know the way."

"You know the...?" A dust cloud passed by. Yusuke rubbed the dirt from his eyes vigorously, choking on the dust. "Hiei, you... You get back here. I know it's you!"

"What? Hiei? Why would he be here?" The dust had settled and Yusuke was already running down the path. "Urameshi!" He ran after him. "Get back here!"

Yusuke stopped in a middle of a path, catching his breath. He looked around for any sign or the demon. "Dammit Well, fine! Don't show up then! You better not do anything stupid then cause I'll kick your ass if you do! Douche bag." He turned to Kuwabara. "We can't waste any more time. Show me the way, then, Mr. Sensitive."

-:-:-

"Yusuke, there's something I want you to know. Kurama, you might as well know too. You're in the same boat as Zamyatin even though you're in a human body. Honestly, I don't think our superiors have our own interests at heart. If Hiei does go out and kill Tarukane, then we'll have to kill him. Spirit World orders. He's still kind of on probation. He did SOMETHING, I guess is what they're trying to tell us. That's how we're told to accept it. That's why no one really volunteers for this job. It's like signing on to be on Death Row. Except we're not on suicide watch. They'd encourage you to do that if it comes to that actually..."

"But that guy's a complete... You know..." He didn't feel like going all out and saying it in front of Mukuro or Kurama plainly, disregarding any other comments he made.

"It's not all black and white like that. Demons are more like guests to this world. Unwanted guests, I guess is a better way of putting it. So if we cause the slightest damage, we're in for it," Kurama replied, a nod to the chief. "I've talked with some of those people, and I've found that's how it is. You could have tried to kill someone like... Hitler, I guess or someone that horrible and you would still be punished for it. Severely. We do the punishment here mostly. They want us dead but they don't want to get their hands dirty."

"Just the thought of it..." She clenched her teeth and wrung her hands. The other two saw an image flash before their eyes of someone lying on the floor and a pool of blood around him. They knew that... "Sorry. Tend to do that." She sighed again.

"How annoying." Yusuke muttered under his breath.

"What is?"

"Well, you're worrying about him and doing all this stuff to watch out for him, but he's always talking about how he doesn't like you."

"Oh. Right. It's not like I'm in love with him or anything like that. I'm not. It's more like I'm looking out for my own. It's a bit more personal because we were partners. And the other thing is that it puts me in a bad position. If I can't manage my ex-partner correctly, then that just tells them my leadership is no good either. Well, we live together, too, for god's sake, and they know that, too. So all the more reason to..."

-:-:-

_Dammit. This whole thing's getting more and more complicated. I swear to god if Hiei does go out and do it..._

-:-:-

_Don't worry anymore, sister. I'm coming. And the nightmare will be over..._

**/And there was none.**

**Notes:  
Yusuke, why are you making a bigger hole in the ozone layer? Al Gore and his material wasting house would be ashamed. You're the... You're what Teddy Roosevelt hated! (No, not really. But I doubt anyone has any idea what I'm talking about...)  
****The Five Year Plan was really supposed to be completed in four years. By the way, it really was reported that Stalin's parties tended to turn into drunken orgies. I shit you not. ALC is supposed to stand for Accelerated Learning Center or something like that. Which doesn't make sense because you're locked in a room all day when you should be in class all because you didn't go to go to detention... That's how it was when I was in high school, anyway. Don't know what everyone else does. And we do know who Deep Throat is. Guess Mukuro doesn't read the news... Right, W. Mark Phelms?****  
****Much love, JC.**


	13. Parallel Consciousness

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: Somewhere I Belong's playing. I noticed a lot of the songs I like are kind of emo. Come to think of it, Fallout Boy's really throwing me off because they sound so happy and their lyrics are kind of evil... Well, Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner anyway. By the way, I didn't like Kanye West before everyone decided it was okay.  
__A bird in hand is an awful mess. (Don't ask. I didn't make that quote.) Squealing like a fangirl. Yeah. I went there.  
__Lucky number this time._

Chapter 13: Parallel Consciousnesses

"Give it up, already, Urameshi. He's not here. You never told me why he would be, either. Seriously, cough it up," Kuwabara said, poking Yusuke with every point he made. He didn't budge so he gave up asking about Hiei's place in this general scheme of things. He started to convince himself that it was just because they were from the same country. "Man... All this running reminds me why I'm not on the track team."

Yusuke replied sharply, "Quit complaining, you play frickin baseball, don't you?"

"Uh... Not anymore. I got cut."

"Same difference. And anyway, about Hiei... The guy's nuts, you should've figured it out. He must've had some business with this Tarukane guy and would use this mission as an excuse to close up some unfinished business with him..." Yusuke groaned. "Great. It's getting dark and we're lost. Why didn't I bring a compass? ...Wait, who uses those anymore? Dammit."

"We can still save her. I mean, the dark's the perfect time. We'll storm right in and then security'll be all like 'What just happened? Did someone just break in?' Or if they DO see us, they'll all be 'Wazzup?' and then we'll be all like 'Wazzup?' and they'll say 'Wazzup?' 'Wazzup?' 'Wazzuuup?' It'll be a great conversation. And then after that, what we'll do is... Uh, we'll smash on them, and then we'll save her and get her out in no time and they wouldn't even know what hit 'em. Except our fists if they see us. It's the perfect plan."

"Sure. So does that mean you can see in the dark, too?"

"...Crap. Well, I guess we could find our way tomorrow..." Grumble, grumble.

"Find our way?! We don't even know where we are."

"I already told you. I know where we're going. That's what counts." A smug smile was pasted on his face. Yusuke rolled his eyes. Kuwabara looked around. "Looks like there's no demons or anything around here. I guess we can camp out over here... Is it me or does it seem like someone's following us? I don't feel their energy or anything, but I feel like there's something here. But... Not."

"It's probably a raccoon. I'll start a fire." Yusuke started to walk away.

"But you can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"Only you can prevent a forest fire. And we probably should get some food. Can't do a mission without a balanced breakfast."

"You're stupid. Where the hell are we gonna get food? Something the bears pissed on?"

-:-:-

The light was blindingly bright. All he saw was that light. Then a face blocked it out, a grim smile on his piercing and stitch covered face.

"Look at how far I've come. I'm operating on generals now. And the one everyone seems to love so much. I feel like a sell-out. That's a same," he grumbled. With a calloused hand, he brushed the hair off Hiei's forehead, and again the doctor (_Doctor... What was his name?)_ grumbled about how he wished Hiei would cut his damn hair. Hiei turned his head away and stared intently at the restraints on his wrists. He had an accent most Soviets complained about. How it butchered their Russian language. His name was

"They're not too tight, are they? I don't want to strangle your arms. Or... You can't die by cutting off circulation in someone's arms, can you?"

"Aren't you the doctor? You should know."

"Never went to medical school, but no one's died on this table that didn't need it. Take that any way you like. You can still move your arms, just a bit, right?" Hiei lifted his arm just a few millimeters off the table. (_Shigure. It was Shigure._) "That's perfect. And I'll ask you again, you sure you want to do this? The pain from getting the Jagan is worse than you can imagine. In case, you were wondering why I had to put so much effort into getting restraints on your arms and legs, it's so you wouldn't be able to scratch out your eyes or kick me while I'm operating on you. You'll be the first to die if I don't."

"Use an anesthetic if that's the case."

"General, if I did, EVERYONE would be lined up outside my door. Besides that, I don't get paid money for this, and I don't have enough from my second job to get myself anything pretty. And this way, I know that we've got a solid contract."

"Fine. I won't say a word. Just do it."

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone screams." He heard a drill sound and saw the flash of a scalpel. "It's just WHAT you scream that matters."

For a moment he saw the scalpel go to her face...

-:-:-

"Yuki-" He caught himself, realizing that he was screaming. The last syllable came out as a weak whisper. "..na..." Just when Yusuke was starting to turn his direction, he disappeared.

"You hear something?" Kuwabara asked.

Yusuke sighed irritably. "No. Let's get going."

-:-:-

Yukina sat by the window, staring out at the trees shifting in the wind. She sighed and slid back in her chair a bit, biting on her lower lip. Three birds flew in the room through the openings in the lattice covering on the window. She sat up straight and held out her hand. One bird perched on her finger while the other two fluttered around until they settled on her right shoulder. For a few moments she sang a lullaby until the words she had forgotten.

"**Sweet birds...**" she said in her native tongue. "**You're the only ones who can visit me anymore. You're all so lucky. You can come and go any time you like. But for me..." **She touched a talisman wrapped in between the panels. It burned her fingers the moment they touched it. She sucked on them for a few moments to ease the pain. As she did so, she stood up and looked out**. "I wish I could touch the leaves on the trees too. I've never seen trees like these before. I would have been so happy to touch them when they change color. This place is so strange. It never snows. It's kind of lonely.**" _I wonder if he's touched those leaves and was there to see them change colors._

She heard the heavy footsteps coming in and she whispered a firm "**Go!**" She sat back down and stared at the wall with a emotionless face. She didn't even turn her head when they came in the room.

"Right in here, boys! You should've brought yourselves some thicker jackets. You'll be freezing your balls off in five minutes." The footsteps came closer. "Hey, Yukina baby, look over here. Your nice uncle Tarukane's got some friends over here for you to play with. Now you better be a good girl and shed us some money and these nice guys won't have get on you."

She only allowed a slight frown to cross her face. Then the room started to chill and a film of frost began to accumulate around the room. Tarukane laughed to himself and said something about her being pretty like a parrot and having as much brains as one. She heard him say the same thing about a hundred times everyday so it didn't faze her anymore. (At this point, the English she did know what proving to make her even more miserable now that she somewhat understood what Tarukane was trying to say to her.) She saw the two strangers in the corner of her eye but not enough detail to memorize their faces. They appeared to be an enormous army green blob with black specks and a smaller navy blue blob on what appeared to be the shoulder of the large blob. The navy one jumped off the green one and the green one slowly came closer, becoming more and more clear. She didn't dare try to look directly at his face but she was still felt intense fear. There was a slicing sensation on her cheek but she ignored the pain of it. The fear lessened a bit.

"Don't bother with that. She doesn't even respond to pain anymore. I've done it so many times it doesn't even matter anymore. We've pretty much done every kind of pain we could think of and all she does is stare at the damn wall."

She heard the birds chirping outside. _Oh no. Please don't..._ The sound was coming closer. _Oh no... No... No, no, no!_ She twisted to see the birds coming to the window. "**No! Go away! Not now!**" She lunged at the window burning her arms in the process.

"That's it, huh?" The large one chuckled a bit. He watched her trying to hide her pain, chewing on her lip until it looked like it was starting to bleed. "Brother..."

She saw the smaller one's fingers extend. With eyes wide open in horror, she stood in the way but he extended the fingers on his other hand to hold her down to the ground. He grabbed the birds and brought them right before her eyes. She tried to squirm free from his grip, but his hold was too tight. She watched with agony as the birds screeches became more and more high pitched and their eyes popped out. And then he dropped the bodies next to her face and he let her free.

She grabbed their lifeless bodies and cradled them in her hands. She looked up at them and saw Tarukane's greedy face. He was shoving in between the two men with a grin so large it looked like his mouth was a crescent moon. She looked back at the birds and started to cry. "**Why? Why did you have to kill them...? I...** I will do anything... Just do not..."

He practically started prancing around the room as the stones hit the ground. "Yes! Yes! Yes! And all over a couple of piece of crap birds! You freaks sure are..." He giggled. "Alright, enough fun, boys! From now on I think I'll be getting us some roasted ROBIN!"

The larger one turned back to her as they all walked out. "Little girl, there's something you should think about. Learn how to make yourself cry so we won't have to do this again."

Tarukane turned to the servant who was waiting in the hall. "Come back in fifteen minutes and see if she made any more. And get a maid over here and make sure she doesn't try to off herself somehow."

"Yes sir." He glanced at the two men. "Oh, if you don't mind me asking, who are your guests...?"

"The Toguro Brothers, you dolt!" He practically shoved him out of the way. "And get a room or two- One's fine?- one room for these two set up while you're at it."

"What, the Toguro Brothers? Really?" _Dear God... That's awful! _He jumped when he remembered something else. "Oh, sir! One last thing before you conduct your business. There are intruders outside. I found two of them, but I heard there's someone else detected. They keep moving so fast it's hard to track them. I think..."

"Yeah, well, quit thinking. It makes you stupid."

"Er, yes, you're quite right. They killed Hiro or Henry or whatever his name was. I'm horrible with names without their faces in front of me. The one who was dropping the stones off. He was a demon. Anyway, all of the humans that came across him were killed so whatever these things are that are coming here can't be human. Or at least normal humans. I suspect the others in the market might be experimenting in creating demons out of humans."

"You don't say..." Tarukane paused. _I think I smell a new place in the market. And when I do, I think this one'll be the first to go under the knife... Oh the possibilities. _He turned to the brothers. "Yo, Toguro, you did say you brought reinforcements if you needed them right?"

"Yeah," the younger one replied.

"Beautiful. Say, Sakashita, do something for me. Get the phone."

"I've already called the market."

"Not that. I want you to called the Black Black Club."

"Oh. So you're trying to make this more interesting. Right away, sir." _I hate my job._ He groaned as he walked away.

-:-:-

"Hey, I think I see the path. We can keep going on there and..." Yusuke stopped and waited for Kuwabara to follow him. When he didn't, he turned around to frown at him. "What the... Kuwabara, you were just happy a few seconds ago and now you're all worried."

"I fee a weird presence behind us. It's stronger than what I was feeling last night," Kuwabara replied. He stayed frozen where he was, tracking down the exact place of the energy.

"You just noticed? It's probably just Hiei. Since that idiot doesn't want to actually come up and help us instead of jumping around like the dumb ass he is. Seriously let's keep- Damn it, Kuwabara!"

Too late. Kuwabara leapt into the bushes. Yusuke paused, waiting for Hiei or another demon to say something, but instead, Kuwabara started squealing like a fangirl. "Ooh! A kitty!" He came out holding a small black and white cat. "Aw, lookit. He's curling his paws. And he's purring. I love you, my kitty-cat."

"Gah! All that just because of a stupid cat..." He groaned. "I'm going back on the path. I'm not gonna keep getting lost with you. You can just sit your dumb ass over here if you want, but I'm gonna actually try and solve this mission."

"For the last time, we're not lost."

"You keep saying that but it doesn't make any sense Mr. UPS. So why don't you tell me what the hell it is you mean or I'll leave you behind."

"Okay, already. I'll tell you what it is. I just happen to know my way to Yukina because I now have... the red pinky string."

"The what?!"

"The red pinky string... The second I saw Yukina's face, the pinky string between us was tied so now we'll be in separable. And when we meet, our hearts will be molded together... as one."

Yusuke smacked his forehead and sighed. "Whatever. The path's still the best way." Kuwabara didn't move. "Well, Hello Kitty? Hurry your ass up before they kill your red pinky string."

"But I feel twelve things over there. We can't go that way."

"Yeah, and what was the last thing you sensed? A stupid cat. I think we know whether or not to trust you this time."

He dropped the cat in response. "But seriously. This doesn't feel like just anything this time. It actually feels malicious this time."

"Yeah, and if we walk around the path we'd get lost again and probably get into piles of bir-" There were twelve hulking demons coming their way. _They're moving pretty quick for something that big._

"So you're the ones who're trying to move in our turf," the largest one said. "It's not our land, but we're getting a nice enough amount to protect it, you hear?"

"Hey, I got a better idea. If we squash the humans, we'll get a pay raise," another added.

"So they're just like that other one..." Yusuke mumbled under his breath. Kuwabara nodded, a grim look on his face now.

-:-:-

The man with the two suitcases stopped when he saw Yusuke and Kuwabara. _The direction they're going in is suspiciously close to... _"Hey, what are you two boys doing out here? Shouldn't you all be at home?"

"We're just walking. Leave us alone," Yusuke replied. The man blocked their way. "What the hell's your problem? Can't some people go on a nature walk without douches like you blocking the way? Why don't you go back to your office? We just want to have a good time, dammit."

"Who sent you all? Now, you tell me. Was it Sabado? Bale? Fernandez? Toguchi?"

"Like he said, we're just hikers. We just got a little lost. We don't know what you're talking about," Kuwabara replied, looking as helpless as can be. At that point, Yusuke was grateful that Kuwabara was such a great actor.

"You expect me to believe that bullshit? I bet it was Phan or Xiong now. They can't keep their hands out of other people's money, can they? They knew these things are a hit, and they want in on our profit." His skin started to stretch so much it revealed that his skin was some sort of mask. "You're in trouble now. No human has ever..."

"I think we can figure out the rest. So you said profit? That girl in there's a demon like you, too? Doesn't it bother you more than just a little?"

"Money's money. I'm being paid more than just what you'd call handsomely for this. And I'm pretty sure you'd throw the other to get ripped apart by dogs if a nice thick wad was flashed in front of your face."

"You're wrong on that one."

-:-:-

"You boys came in time!" Tarukane laughed when he saw his fellow members of the Black Black club on the five screens in front of him.

"Wouldn't want to miss an opportunity like this!"

"Well, you do know how to make a great betting."

"Never a dull moment with you, is there?"

"Agreed."

The last one was silent and took another drag on his cigarette. He stared intently at Tarukane with a half smile on his face. Or at least he was staring in his direction, anyway. He was the youngest member of the group. He had black hair cut into a mullet so to hide his scar that crossed over an eye. It was from a betting fight, he said. Tarukane knew this was the one to keep an eye on.

Tarukane grunted at the servant. Sakashita turned to another screen which was a series of security cameras to be sure that no one entered the mansion yet. He pointed pointed to the screen,"Well, my good men, the conditions are there are two intruders."

Tarukane hissed, "I thought there were three."

He hid the moments of his mouth much like a ventriloquist, "Well, I head three but they only detected two in the same area. The third might have been another demon that just happened to be passing by. You know how scatterbrained that can be..." He paused. "Sorry about that. I was being too confusing, and I just realized... There are two intruders and we have sent twelve demons. Your wager is on whether the intruders survive."

"So you're just making this more interesting... Fifty two thousand on the demons."

"Yeah, Fifty two thousand they die."

"Make that seventy six."

"Eighty four."

_Ha! I've heard that there's two human teenagers going around and stamping out demons. Including some bozos called the Saint Beasts. If these are them, oh boy, I'd be rolling in cash. _Tarukane grinned, imagining the stacks of money he would have in his vault._  
_

"One twenty thousand on the intruders." There was a collective gasp.

"Are you insane, man?" Tarukane gasped.

"Well, I've heard that two human boys have been defeating demons. Doing much better than those convicts at the local, oh, what are they called now, the Lovecraft Place. You know those guys wouldn't do a good job protecting us though."

"Ever the businessman. You can't stay away from taking the underdog role, can you?" _That damn Sakyou! How the hell does he always know about things like this? Who the hell are those Lovecraft guys anyway?!_

"Six of their energies have just disappeared. Looks like we actually would need the three. I'll call them in." Toguro walked out.

"Well, I believe that one twenty times five is six hundred."

Toguro came back, followed by three demons. He introduced them- Miyuki, Gokumonki, and Inmaki.

"So your wagers that they will survive the Triad?"

"Two hundred on the triad!"

"Two hundred for me as well!"

"Two hundred fifty! Quit copying the last wager while you're at it!"

"Two hundred seventy."

Sakyou smirked and said, "Five hundred on the intruders."

Miyuki looked disgusted. "Well, that's a vote of confidence."

"Deal with it, lady. Unless you wanna punch out a screen you gotta shut up and take it. You boys can sit around and talk with Sakashita if you want. That's if you can't stand sitting and waiting. But the guy's scatterbrained, I warn you now. You can't hold an intelligent conversation with him." Tarukane walked out with the Toguro brothers following him.

"So... Has the recession hurt you to badly?" Sakyou asked mockingly.

"Not-really-at-all!" He tried to hide his irritation. _I hate my job so much..._

-:-:-

"Geez, Kuwabara, you must mean business... You got rid of those guys like they were nothing. Why can't you be like that more often?" Yusuke asked.

"Hey no one's getting between me and my true love! Now you see why the path is no good? Great. Yukina, your knight in shining armor is coming." He ran as fast as he could then came to a skidding stop a second later. "Hey, I haven't felt anything following us so if it WAS Hiei he probably decided to leave. Probably thought we couldn't make it in and probably planning a sudden appearance so he looks like he's helping and would look cool for Mukuro."

"Uh, yeah... Hey, you remember that Razor thing we talked about in class...?"

"Nope. But it's probably related to emos. Now- away!"

"Uh... Sure." _Whatever the razor thing is... Now is probably when they would use it. I think. Don't we wish his idea was right on?_

-:-:-

_I can't see in this place. That means they have something there that..._ Hiei growled under his breath and shook his head. _They probably got talismans or something... I can't come in yet. If I go in before those two idiots, then I'll have to listen to Mukuro's crap about my taking this into my own hands. Yeah, I'll get it anyway, but at least I didn't cause any trouble. As long as she doesn't pull her hypothetical crap... Looks like I'll have to wait on them... Where are they anyway?_

-:-:-

Tarukane took the brothers down into a hall leading to the back of the mansion. They turned into another hall. "This is where I keep my prized animals. Aren't they beauts?"

"...Nice freak menagerie." The younger Toguro muttered under his breath. Tarukane laughed like it was the greatest joke in the world. He continued walking them down the hall until he stopped at a large room blocked off by a bulletproof glass wall. The creature in there appeared to be a giant bear with an alligator-like tail and reptilian face. It was covered with thick layers of matted hair and spikes went to its tail. It swatted a mammoth claw at the bulletproof window and wagged its long deep red tongue, drooling.

"Heh heh... She thinks it's time for food. Her name's Helen and she's the masterpiece of Middle East genetic engineering. She could probably tear a lion or a tiger apart like it's a toothpick or something. I don't know. Never tried. She does love it when we bring in cattle for her." He turned to the brothers. "Okay, you've been amazed by this. Now it's time for your end of the bargain. I want you to show me the extent of your powers."

"I really don't want to." (_Cha-ching! I smell a discount!_) Toguro took off his jacket and walked into the room.

"Hey, what're you doing?! If you die, Yukina'll never be able to be managed! She doesn't have the capacity to take commands!"

"My brother will surprise you. He always does," the elder Toguro said to reassure Tarukane.

"My job consists mainly of things that I don't enjoy doing. Just by looking at me alone you wouldn't think that I love animals..." He flexed his muscles a few times, and each time he did so, his muscles slowly grew larger and larger until they doubled in size. "This is about thirty percent. This'll be plenty."

Helen lunged to attack him. Toguro grabbed her massive arm and slammed a fist into her stomach. He whole midsection was blown to bits. Toguro turned around and walked out cooly, glancing at his hand once for blood.

"That... That was... Amazing! Amazing! I gotta make you guys my bodyguards! I'll double, no triple your pay! I... I... Goddamn this is great!"

**/And there was none**.

**Notes:**

**I was looking at the scans again... I noticed... Yukina really has personality. It kind of doesn't show up that much in the anime but she does. She's funny. Dammit, is it the Black Black Club or the Black Book Club?** **Came up with random names for the other traders. Yeah, it came out kind of weird. I like the third wager on the triad. Seriously he said exactly what we were thinking. And it's Occam's Razor you're thinking of, Yusuke. It's basically when there's multiple explanations, you should choose the simplest one. In this case, the one not involving Mukuro is the choice... Among the obvious reasons too.**  
Much love, JC.

(edit: On Russian cryllic... So there's actually thirty-two letters in the Russian alphabet. Two of those are symbols, which note a hard syllable and a soft syllable. It does look kind of English in some respects: B (actually V), H (N), C (S), P (R), and so on. Backwards R is "ya" and backwards N can be "ee" and when it has mechiznak (the little half circle over it) it becomes something more like a "y.")


	14. Walk Out

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: __Yukina's image of her brother looks like a pirate. Not the scary modern ones, the weird Disney ones. (Jack Sparrow) I'm still trying to figure it out. Maybe Yukina... Oh never mind.  
_

Chapter 14: Walk Out

_Wouldn't it be nice if he came in and saved me? _Yukina thought. _That my brother would be out there somewhere and then he comes and breaks down the window and take me away? That's crazy though. He probably doesn't even know that I'm in this world if he remembers me at all. I think I vaguely remember him myself... I really wonder if he remembers me. _She leaned against the wall. She tried to imagine her brother but she could only imagine an outline of a body dressed rather plainly in a white long sleeved shirt, black slacks, and black boots. The face was blank except for the word brother pasted across his face.

_There's something out there. I wonder what's... _She heard a series of crashes and gunshots below her. _Someone... There's someone trying to break in._ Suddenly, she felt conflicted.

-:-:-

A man in a black suit saw Yusuke and Kuwabara coming down the hall. He ran down the hall and screamed over his shoulder, "Here!" Then he turned around and ran back down the hall.

"What the...? What, does he have a pack of crazy dogs here to get us?" Yusuke said, cocking a brow.

"I don't care if he sends a thousand wolves. I'm not stopping," Kuwabara replied, apparently thinking he was Beastmaster.

"Are you listening to yourself? We'd die if they sent a crapload of wolves. I don't care if we killed the Saint Beasts, that's still not fair and you know it."

A woman in a red dress walked down the halls. She had long blue hair that fell and framed her face in shining waves. In the middle of her forehead, near her hairline, was a small horn about an inch in length. Her eyelids were faded out with a touch of skyblue glitter eyeshadow, her lashes dark with mascara, and her lips covered with a lipstick the same shade as her hair. She stared at them, confused at first, but then she giggled. A half smile crossed her face as she spread her leg to reveal a white thigh through the slit of her crimson qipao. "So. You're the intruders. I didn't think they would be a couple of cute boys like you... Too bad I can't go easy on anyone."

"That's perfect because I won't go easy on you either." Yusuke stepped forward, cracking his knuckles.

"Are you crazy, Urameshi? She's a girl. You're not supposed to hit a girl."

"Okay, whatever. So you mean to tell me that if some girl walks up to you and kicks you in the nads you're supposed to sit there and be nice? Hell no. I'm kicking that bitch in the taco. Screw you, now's not the time to start being chivalrous here."

"In the... Oh come on, you didn't have to go and say that..."

"She's a frickin fighter anyway so if she doesn't want to get hit then she wouldn't've gone out and started challenging us Anyway..." He turned to Miyuki. "Let's do this!" He lunged forward.

Miyuki stepped back after the first blow, crossing her arms over her breasts. "You...! You pervert. I can't believe you."

Yusuke turned to her, his hand still cupped. "Yeah. Just to give you a taste of what I'm capable of. Now that I have you figured out, I just want you to know that I'm really not gonna hold back on you, you hear me?" He lunged forward again but she blocked his punch by grabbing onto his arm. She lifted her leg to throw a roundhouse kick, but Yusuke rolled under her and came out from between her legs. He shivered a bit before sliding a foot under her leg, knocking her down. She shrieked and struggled to kick him in the face. Yusuke pivoted and kicked her on the face. Kuwabara knew it, Miyuki was on the ground with a black eye.

"God... You really weren't kidding, were you?" Kuwabara was appalled. He practically looked brain dead at that point.

"Okay. I'll admit I'll take it a little easy on a girl, but that's if she were really a girl." He groaned and his face turned a tinge of green. "But shit, Kuwabara, if you say that to a girl's face, she'll think you're a douche..."

"Wait, so that means that just now when you... Ew... You really are a perv, aren't you?"

"Oh shut up, I just happened to run into something that wasn't supposed to be there when I dodged her attack. I'm just trying to make myself think of something else. I'm not gonna be the same after that. Quick, tell a joke, fart, something."

"Um, um... If a quiz is quizzical, then a test is... Oh, geez! Now I'm polluted. I can't... Ugh..."

"Okay, I am a woman, but I'm only trapped in a man's body. So go ahead, call me a freak, just like everyone else." Miyuki growled. She stood up. She rushed over and with her hand held at a ninety degree angle, fingers and thumbs purled towards her palm, she brought her hand towards Yusuke's nose. He raised his arm to make a high block, bringing the other arm down to punch her in the gut. She doubled over, was kneed in the face and she went down.

"That's it, lady?" Miyuki looked up at him. "Yeah, I called you lady. That's what you look like, and I'm sticking to it. And as weird as it is to me, I really don't care. So you done here or am I gonna have to add some bruises on you? I'm not gonna let you off as long as you keep that girl locked up."

"She's down the hall. Turn left at the first intersection and keep going straight. You'll reach a doorway and that'll take you to the tower," Miyuki stood up. "That's all I'm telling you. You're the first person I met that knew and treated me halfway decent. You're still a brute. You don't hit a lady's face. I'm out of here. I'm not really a fighter." She started stumbling her way out.

Yusuke shrugged. "You heard her. Thanks for your support, Kuwabara, by the way."

"Ha, you're welcome!" Kuwabara started laughing. "Hey, wait. What if she WERE a girl?"

"...I dunno. I guess I would have gotten some cheap thrills."

"Keiko'd love to hear that."

"You wouldn't tell her something like that."

"Sure. If you don't but me this CD I've been wanting." Yusuke was about to protest but then something rushed past him. Something with claws that made a gash in his arm.

A small man hidden in black robes appeared. His face was covered with a mask, whisps of black hair sticking out from behind it. He raised his hands, showing claws which were attached to his knuckles. "So you've gone through Miyuki. We should have known how useless she was. She will fight decently when she thinks it's worth her time. She holds back too much and that's her flaw but not mine. I'm Inmaki and I won't be so easy to defeat!" He disappeared.

Kuwabara saw his shirt get slashed. "He's fast. Too fast."

"I can't even get a shot at him. Let's get out of here." They ran down the hall, hearing a scratch across the wall. They knew that if they turned around, they would see deep slashes in the wall. Yusuke faltered slightly. "Wait, Kuwabara, I just got an idea." They turned into another hall. "You ready to tell me when he comes this way?" Kuwabara nodded.

Inmaki laughed in his head. _These boys aren't that bad at all! I might just...!_ He turned into the hall and was slammed into the wall before he turned to the two. He saw he was surrounded by various holes in the wall. Then he quickly realized what happened. "What? But how?"

"Well, you were so fast so you would be hard to see but you still couldn't hide from my spiritual awareness so all Yusuke had to do was attack so that you could be hit even if you moved." Kuwabara smiled smugly when Inmaki hit the ground. "Yeah. I told you, Urameshi. I told you. Nothing is gonna get between me and Yukina. Nothing. Not even..." He saw the large red skinned Gokumonki and tackled him with such force that he knocked him over. He sat on the demon's chest and started punching him the face, breaking his nose.

"H-hey stop. What's going on?!" He dropped the club he was clutching.

"Yeah. Gimme that thing. Mwa ha ha..." He struggled to pick it up. "Oh, forget this. Can't pick this crap up. I'm gonna... Hey, quit crawling away. I'm gonna... I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"Uncle! Uncle! I surrender! Leave me alone! I don't wanna do this anymore!" Yusuke noticed the security camera above him. He flipped it off, shaking his hand as he did so.

-:-:-

"What?! They're just boys," Tarukane gasped.

"It looks like Sakyou may be right. I think I'll step out of this one."

"It looks as if you've gotten to a disadvantage now. These boys can walk right in, and you can't back out. The Black Black Club dictates you finish." Sakyou paused. He stared at Tarukane again, but then he realized that all that time, his eyes were really on the Toguro brothers. "And it looks as if you're the last two left. I'll wager two hundred twenty trillion, sixty two billion dollars."

"What?" Tarukane left vomit jump up his throat.

"You hear me right. Two hundred twenty trillion sixty two billion."

_I can't pay that off! If I lose I'll be bankrupt, but if I win... All that money... It'll be all mine. All the things I can do with that money... _"I... Yeah, I've saved the best for last. I have the Toguro brothers." Sakyou was not fazed. Instead of a theatrical gasp, he took a cool drag of his cigarette. "Just wait and I'll be prepared." He whispered to the servant. "Get Yukina. This'll get messy. If worse comes to worse, we'll just have to load her up in the helicopter and get the hell outta here. Get to it."

"Yes, sir." Sakashita groaned. _I don't like where this is going..._

-:-:-

"Hey, stop right here, Urameshi," Kuwabara gasped.

"What now? You telling me we're going the wrong way? I'm pretty sure that Miyuki girl knows what she was talking about here," Yusuke replied. "I'm really getting tired of you stopping me every five seconds. Let's move on."

"No... I feel something. But it's not evil or anything. I know it's a demon but it's not the kind that they've been sending after us. That means, it must be her. Gimme a moment. I think I can figure out a way to talk to here. I've been pretty good with my powers." He shut his eyes tightly. Yusuke was more afraid for a moment that he would swoon in happiness rather than make any real progress._ I dunno how this works but... Come on. Come on... Hello?_

(Yukina nearly jumped out of her seat. The door was opening at the same time. She looked at the man who was entering, but she knew it wasn't his voice that she heard. The gate was opening and he grabbed her by the arm. She tried to slap him, but he caught her by the arm and restrained her. She felt an openness in her mind. Something told her to answer its call.) _Who...? Who is this?_

_The name's Kuwabara, and I'm coming over to save you._

_What? No, go away._

_What? Why?_

_They have the Brokers of Darkness. They're going to kill you. They're bad men._

_Don't worry about that, sweetheart. We've already taken care of them._

(She saw the other three men waiting for her as soon as she stepped out of the room. She refused to make eye contact with them. So much for having them out of the picture.) He felt a faint question-_Sweetheart?_-but she responded, _No, that can't be right. I'm looking at them right now._

_Well, then, we'll take care of them!_

_No. You don't have to. You should go. _It was then covered in a language he didn't know. And then the communication stopped.

"Well, what'd she say? Or were you just standing there acting like you did? Derp, derp, derp," Yusuke asked.

"No, she just said that we should just get out of here. But we can't. I can tell that she's suffering! It's like she's been through this kind of thing before... I can sense it, you know. This telepathy really brings you into the person's head. You can tell what they've been through, and sometimes you can even feel what they're feeling from what I just experienced."

"Just by listening in on her thoughts?"

"Kinda hard to explain. So we can't go to where that lady told us to go. They're going to another place. Follow me."

Yusuke shrugged, and they ran back down the hall. They found a staircase going down. After a moment's hesitation, Kuwabara nodded for them to go in. Once down, they realized they had reached the basement, which looked like a series of cells containing strange looking demons. They passed once which had large lumps of flesh lying around.

"Ew, what is that? Actually on second thought, do I even want to know?" Yusuke grumbled to himself.

"Hey, look we're almost there." Kuwabara indicated double doors. They ran to enter the room before they closed.

The first thing they heard when they entered the room was Tarukane's cry, "There they are. Ha ha ha! The idiot kids!"

"That's the guy!" Kuwabara growled. He stared at the window about ten feet above them. "Look at that jerk. Just sitting there watching us like it's all one big show. Bet he'll really be laughing when we pound our fists in his face." He saw a familiar face up there as well. "Yukina..." He sent her a message, _Don't you worry, Yukina. We'll be up there to save you._

The two standing in front of them were silent, though the younger Toguro smirked.

"Hey, Toguros, you better not let me down!" Tarukane added.

He didn't acknowledge him. "Ready, Brother?" He let the older one jump off his shoulder, and with a loud screech, he bent over into a tighter and tighter fold. He lifted his arms behind his back and twisted them together and he spread his legs so the bottom of his feet were touching. Then he started to scrunch and twist in a sword. The younger Toguro chuckled at their expressions of shock. "My brother can change shape. It's nothing really. And me? I can expand my muscles. But together..."

"More demons. Go frickin figure. Guess they are as screwed up as humans are." (_No, You're wrong, Kuwabara, and you know it. Something isn't right here. I don't think these guys are demons... And that we know it just like this... That's what the scariest thing is. _Yusuke didn't say anything.) He took his Spirit Sword and leapt forward to make the first blow. Toguro caught his sword and kneed him in the solar plexus, sending him flying so he hit the wall..

Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun at that moment. Toguro jumped over it, and Yusuke then used his Shotgun technique. Toguro blocked his chest and face with his arms, deflecting some of the shots right back at them. Yusuke had to do a pseudo-military roll just to avoid some of them. Kuwabara got back up on his feet, raised his Spirit Sword, then attacked again only to be flung away into a wall again. He thought he heard something crack.

Yusuke came behind Toguro and aimed when he was right next to him. "Right on target!" And the room was filled with dust. "Hey, don't feel bad. I have a cousin who took the heads off all his sister's Barbies. Maybe he can lend you one." Then the dust cleared. "Oh, cr-"

The older Toguro had become a shield. That was wrapped around his brother's arm. "He has a large range of forms, you know. He's much more talented than I am." He brought his arm and smacked Yusuke, who also bit his tongue as the force lifted him off his feet, in the gut.

-:-:-

Yukina looked away, shutting her eyes tight. _Please, oh... Please... I can't stand this. I told him. I didn't want him to die. Why did he come this way when I told him not to? I don't want anymore people to die for me. I'm not that..._ Her image of her brother then fell into a coffin and the lid was nailed shut and... She gasped.

"Look up, toots. This is how you like it, isn't it? This is a reminder of how it will always be for you! Just like last time," Tarukane said, his hand lifting Yukina's chin so he could look into her eyes. Yukina felt some tears rolling out.

-:-:-

Kuwabara was close to passing out at that point. His vision of Yusuke fighting was blurring. He started seeing other things flash before his eyes. _Are these... Are these her memories?_

-:-:-

Hiei stood in the middle of the hallway, looking this way and that. _They went in. That's all I know. But where...?_ Hiei suddenly felt a strange sensation. _What is that? Is it THEM? The Toguro Brothers? But... There's no one else here. And there's Yukina. Just a little longer, and I'll make that asshole sorry that he even tried to use you like he did. You can wait for your brother a few more minutes, right?_

-:-:-

"You know, I have a sister your age." The man in the black suit smiled. "Say..."

Tarukane walked in. "You get out. You're just here to feed her and teach her English so she can understand what we're saying to her. You already did enough of the last one. But still that's it." The man shrugged and walked out, though pausing to look over his shoulder at one point. Tarukane held up a talisman. "Now then, let's get down to business, babe. I heard these burn the skin right off freaks like you." A couple of servants held her down so she couldn't even shake them off. "So let's see those tears." He pressed it down on her arm and her skin felt like it was on fire. She even saw what looked like smoke raising from the wound. She shut her eyes tight...

...

"**Today's the day**," the man in the suit said with a smile again.

"**What day is it? A holiday? Is it someone's birthday? Is it yours?**" Yukina asked.

"**No. Even better. Tarukane's going out of the country to go on vacation or something. He took almost all of his guards with him so no one would really go after us now.**"

"**But if he finds out, he might know it was you and he'll know where to find you. I can't do that to you.**"

"**You're turning down an offer to be freed so I wouldn't be put in harm's way? You need to think about yourself for once!**" After a moment's hesitation, she followed him out the room, and they ran down the halls. They saw the main entrance when Tarukane standing behind a group of armed guards blocked the way. The man saw what was coming and he pushed Yukina to the ground so that she wouldn't be shot by any stray bullets. And down he went...

...

There was a faceless man in a white shirt and black slacks who fell into a coffin and it was nailed shut and shoved down a cliff... Out of her reach...

...That was the last decent human she met until...

-:-:-

"You... You call yourselves men?" Kuwabara found the strength to jump to his feet. "That's not what you are. I'll call you monsters. But even that's too nice." Yusuke was by his side. Kuwabara whispered to him, "Hey, how many shots you got left?"

"Just one. Why? You got a plan all of a sudden?" Yusuke asked. "This better be good, cause I'm so damn tired of falling on my ass. And also..." He spat out some blood. Kuwabara leaned to his ear and whispered.

"Finish 'em, Toguros. I've had enough of this drama," Tarukane said over the intercom.

_Oh shut up!_ Kuwabara took a running start. Toguro readied himself to attack in a swinging motion like an axe. Then Yusuke fired his Spirit Gun, launching Kuwabara forward. The blade went into the younger Toguro's solar plexus. It was the final blow.

"So you found a way... Brilliant..." Toguro mumbled as he fell. He died moments after.

-.-.-

_What? What?!_ "You've got to be kidding me! This can't be happening! I'm bankrupt! Bankrupt! All because of some stupid kids!" Tarukane feel large droplets of sweat drip down his face and neck. He slumped against his chair. He reached a shaky hand into his pocket and pulled out a hand kerchief, but he dropped it. "Damn it, bitch. Pick that up." Yukina didn't move.

"I know you've started the Black Black Club but we really can't associated with the poor. No hard feelings, right?"

"I'll expect you to come back if you find any way back to wealth."

Sakyou smirked and took a drag on his cigarette. "I expect my payment at the end of the month." His image on the screen disappeared.

"No. No, I'm not going to do this! Sakashita, get the helicopter. We're going out of the country! We'll... Damn it, bitch. Pick that up!" He raised his hand to smack her. Yukina still didn't move. She stared at his hand, daring him to do it. The door was kicked in at the moment and there was a flash. The three guards and the servant all hit the ground. Tarukane was slammed against the window. He looked into someone's eyes. Yukina's? No, this was a man. A dark haired man. "Who... Who the hell are you?! What the hell do you want?! I... Is it money cause that broad over there can cry tears worth more than you can imagine...

_So that's how it is, you bastard... _"You fucker! I don't want your dirty money. You can shove it so far down your throat you start shitting gold coins for all I care." Hiei slammed Tarukane against the window again and slammed his face into the wall so blood gushed out of the man's nose like waterfalls. He slammed Tarukane's face into the window again so he cracked the glass. He stepped back when the man's pants started getting soaked with urine.

Yusuke heard the sound and looked up to see what was happening. It took him a moment to figure out who the figure in the window was. Then, he remembered what Mukuro said. "Hiei, goddamn you! Don't kill him! I know you want to and I sure as hell want to but don't do it!"

_And just letting him get off like this is enough? He's saying that what's he's done can be repaid by light punishment?! _He reached for his pistol. "I've had enough of you. Every second of being near you makes me want to vomit. You know what I'm here for." He spat a few curses at Tarukane in his native tongue.

Yukina saw Hiei's finger on the trigger. Just as he was about to pull it, she pushed his arm so he shot the ceiling.

"**Why? Why did you do that?!**" Hiei growled. He caught himself and looked away. He put the safety on the pistol and put it in his pocket. "**...Didn't he make you suffer for his own greed? And now you want me to stop?**"

"**Don't! Please don't... I can't take this. All this hating everywhere I go. All this hating and killing... He did do some terrible things but maybe... Maybe he just lost his way. But please... No more.**"

He saw tears forming in her eyes. "**Is that what you really want?**" She nodded hesitantly. "**Okay, I don't want to cause you anymore trouble. You've had enough to deal with.**"

"**Don't be mad.**"

"**What makes you say that?**" She indicated that he was tapping his toe. He immediately stopped. "**I'm not. Not at all.**"

Silence. "**...Um... You seem familiar. Do I know you?**" she asked.

He grabbed her by the shoulders, almost started shaking her, but then let her go. "**I'm... Mr. James Madison. Nothing more.**" She heard something small hit the ground as he turned around to walk out. He turned back around for a moment his face void of all emotion. "**Take care of yourself.**" _I can't tell her. Don't need to._

Just as he walked out, Yukina noticed that he dropped his badge. "Mr. James! You dropped your..." He was already gone. She went downstairs in a hurry and went to Yusuke first.

"I'm fine over here," Yusuke replied when she asked him. "But you might wanna check on that guy over there." He pointed a thumb a Kuwabara. "I'll make sure everything's okay over there."

She walked over to Kuwabara. "Oh, you look horrible. I know some healing. It's not much, but it's the least I can do after what you did for me." She put a hand on her shoulder. Her sleeves rolled up revealing the scars from the burns on her arms.

_Her burns... _"Thanks a lot... Um... I know... I know that... I know what they did to you and I just want to ask you one thing. Please don't hate humans. Please... This guy was really rotten but there's lots of other types out there and lots of other great ones out there. Ones that would drop everything and give you a hand when you need it the most. And sometimes you don't have to keep seeking them out cause there's always someone nearby. I wish I can take all of what happened away but I can't. All I want is you to know that..."

"Oh no... No, I don't hate all humans at all. Everyone needs forgiveness."

Hiei, who was standing in the doorway, started walking away at that moment. _That's all I... Yeah, that's all now. Maybe it's time I..._

-:-:-

It was about two in morning when Mukuro heard the door slam. _Oh, looks like he's home. Doesn't sound like he's drunk this time. That's new._ She didn't move still. She heard him walk into his room and lock the door behind him. Fifteen minutes later she heard (_Something? No._) him drop.

She groaned and took the key from the drawer in the desk. She unlocked the door and walked in. There was the blade in his hand, his wrist covered in blood.

_Not again... I might have to..._ Mukuro crouched on the floor, swiped a finger in the pool of blood and licked it. After a moment's hesitation, she went on...

**/And there was none.**

Notes:  
I don't remember the numbers on the wager. Meh. Mukuro at the end of this chapter... No, she does NOT get a sick thrill out of drinking other people's blood.  
See you all later.  
Much love, JC.

(edit: So demon blood... The explanation is pretty much that demon blood has healing properties, but you only get the effects if the one you're getting the blood from is more powerful than you. And for it to really have any large effect, it has to be a huge gap. Like if an S class gave blood to a C class, there would obviously be some great benefits. Humans can actually buy in to this, too. But it has to be in increments as too much demonic blood at one time will cause a human to BECOME a demon. I actually took this idea from _RosaVamp, _but added my own little twist to it.  
Another note on Mukuro. She's NOT a vampire. I don't expect you to assume that she is in any way. But she's a mare, which is a creature of European legend that is much like a succubus, except with more of an emphasis on dreamwalking, hence the word Nightmare. The basic story is that it's an old hag that would sit on your chest and ride you in the night, causing night terrors. It's the phenomenon that's the basis of sleep paralysis. In this story, a mare is closer to a succubus, meaning that should they sleep with a man, they would suck out his life via semen. When they have intercourse with a male mare, this is cancelled out. They also have the power to enter people's minds and dreams with ease, an ability strengthened as the demon him or herself gets stronger. Mukuro being the power level she is should be able to do it easily, but it's actually her shackles that's limiting her power, hence why she needs physical contact for her to break mental walls and search. Should someone's mental guards be dropped she could just waltz in their minds easily, too. So, there. That's the explanation of Mukuro in a way that won't screw up most of the story for you.)


	15. Painted Slate

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: I hate you Shura, you got your name on the character list now so I can't keep making fun of him. Grr! And here's a random ass comment "I can justify a Hiei/Mukuro pairing cause she talks to him like she's known him as a friend for years. You can't say the same about Hiei cause he'd still talk like he normally does even if the president's there." I'm not saying that because I'm including that content in here. I'm trying to avoid that type of thing so everyone's happy... But unfortunately for some I'm considering working with it. I'm hoping to focus more on them as friends who help each other heal than anything else. If it does end up being a relationship in that sense, I won't make it the focus of this story. In fact, I'd put minimal details because the story isn't about their relationship. It's about something even bigger than two people alone. If anyone has any severe objections... Call my agent.  
_

Chapter 15: Painted Slate

The man reappeared in the screen with a smug look on his face. He lit his cigarette, took a drag on it and then said, "You can get up now. No one's here anymore. No one of importance to us anyway."

And he stood up, pulling out the the Spirit Sword that was still rammed into his abdomen. He watched as the sword uncurled itself into a man once more. "What a fight. They had so much potential yet they used it so horribly. I take it we'll be seeing each other in a few months?"

"Of course, Mr. Victor. Make sure you have a team assembled by then. You do have people in mind, don't you? I don't want to pull any strings at the moment. Much too busy these days, you know."

"Yeah, I have a couple of names in mind. Now if those lazy good-for-nothings would contact me I would be able to tell you right now. But it looks like I'll have to use force."

"I'll look forward to your progress."

"About the money SOMEONE owes..."

"Ha! Chump change. I don't need it, and I don't need the girl's tears either." He paused. "Oh, one more thing, Toguro. I want one more favor before I go back to my private life... Take out the trash."

"With pleasure."

-:-:-

The second Hiei's eyes opened, he fought the impulse to go jump straight to attention, an impulse he kept even as a general. He looked around the room, sensing only vague familiarity and paranoia creep up his spine. He sat up and looked frantically around for something that he could firmly state was foreign or not. They were the same white walls of his room, but there was a computer on the desk. The sheets were a different color and the window on the wall wasn't there. It definitely wasn't Kurama's room so... It wasn't until Mukuro came in, with a look on her face deeply lacking concern, that he realized where he was. He immediately looked at his wrist, touching where he knew the blade had been.

"So I take it you have a good sleep?" she asked somewhat mockingly with an insincere touch of sympathy. "You were pretty tired yesterday. You passed out on the floor so I dragged you over here since I was doing an all-nighter again. You slept like a log. Must be nice since you can't get more than three hours in when you can let yourself sleep."

"What did you do to me?" Hiei growled under his breath.

"Don't ask a question if you already know the answer. It gives the answerer a sense false of hope that they know something you don't, and upon realizing that you already knew, they feel even more like fools than if they give a completely incorrect one. So do you know or don't you?"

"Obviously. I should have a scar at least and I shouldn't've been in this room because I was in mine and I locked the door."

"Not if I unlocked it and as I said, dragged you in here. And for the record, you should put on some weight. You're as heavy as a thirty-two bottle case of bottled water. No, lighter than that."

"I know if I walk into that room, I'll see blood on the floor, whether it's a stain or dried. It doesn't matter. I cut my wrist and blood got everywhere. Tell me what you did."

"Your logic is wonderful, but you failed to come to a conclusion and that's just horrible. That's the easiest part of reasoning. Unless your unsaid conclusion is that I pulled out a magic wand and waved a bunch of pixie dust to save you from whatever you did or that I concocted a potion that heals people no matter what. Or on the other end you could have too much to drink and dreamt that you stumbled into your room, when in fact you wandered into mine and passed out on my bed... Which luckily for both of us, I wasn't occupying at the time."

"You're so full of shit. You gave me your blood, didn't you? And don't go on and on about something no one cares about-"

"Hey, that's pretty funny, there. No one's in this room other than us and no one but us is hearing this conversation... Except maybe the busybody neighbors who get up at three in the morning in preparation for the latest-"

"I just want answers."

"Need I remind you about asking questions you already know the answer to? And look, I don't sit there and say, 'Oh, I'll annoy Hiei, give him my blood, and drink his. That'll be funny!' I enjoy it as much as you do. On a side note... Your blood tastes like medicine. You should lay off the alcohol. And I'm guessing your next question will be why I even bothered to do it. I look out for my own, okay? And besides, you didn't mean to do that. No one who cuts themselves does. Especially when they cut across the street instead of down it." She demonstrated with her index finger. "You were pretty much in medical school, you know know how to kill yourself."

"Well, I hate your blood. It's disgusting."

"Yeah, and I hate the effects of it. For reasons I don't want to share with you, it has that effect on people. I'd apologize for it if it was my fault. How you deal with that is your business, not mine. And you better not make it my business. You live your live your way, I'll live it mine. If they intersect, then it better be on pleasant circumstances or well, I'll leave that for the time you see someone stupid enough to try. If that comes."

"Whatever you say. The feeling's not mutual. If you were in my position, I wouldn't've helped YOU."

"See, that's what makes me sick about you. Someone asks something of you, you expect payback. And you'll only involve yourself if there's something in it for you. You take too many people for granted because you think everyone's against you. At least when I do something I try to be sincere. Or maybe I'm too filled with self-importance. I won't ask your opinion. These days I won't bother with yours when it's a serious matter. I just thought about your sister, too. It would be horrible if she found out her brother wasn't there to see her again."

"You...! How do you even know her? Did Yusuke-"

"I'll leave him out of the conversation. If you wanna know the summary, he had no where to put the tape in so he came back there and I ended up being in the room to see it. I know I should have been working, but that's my problem for going into a territory where I'm not wanted. While we're discussing that mission, I want to know just what in God's name you wear thinking when you went over there like that? And I know you did because you just got that look on your face like you've been caught. It's the only explanation as to why you went missing like you did."

"Yeah, well, I didn't kill anyone. Being hypothetical about it won't help either. I could've, yeah, I did. Did I? No."

"You're so fucking stupid. I'll end up not being held accountable for you and then they'll take you somewhere else if they're feeling generous. I've been pretty lenient with you. I could actually set it up so that you would have to be accompanied by someone at all times to be sure you don't do anything stupid. And I've been told that if I'm smart, I'd do it. But I don't because I don't believe in constant surveillance. Nor do I have it set up so that you could be arrested if you're seen in any areas I believe you shouldn't be going to. What is it between the time I got put in this crap job and the time we were partners that made you so arrogant? What happened to you actually thinking through your head a good deal of the time when we were working together?"

"Mukuro, if that's true and I have changed that badly, then you're wasting your time. You may be called an eloquent speaker by everyone but I can still be unaffected. I don't feel anymore compelled to die for Stalin after he gives his speeches than when I first went into the army. For the record, I just joined to get fed. Sorry, if that hurts your three time veteran feelings."

"Believe me, it takes more than anti-army sentiment to make me cry."

"Don't cry. I'll start laughing and you'll get all offended."

"Unfortunately, I know that about you, too." She placed the glass in her hand on the desk and then pushed him down on the bed with one hand. "Drink some water. It'll clear your thoughts and get some rest. You'll need it. You don't need to go to work today either. I'm late now... Well, more like a couple of hours late. Just stay here and do whatever you want. I don't care right now. I'm not going to hold any of this over you. Whether you do the opposite for me, I don't care. I can't control your thoughts." She walked out.

"...Tch. You say that but you'd stab me in the back too. Each and every one of you." Hiei stared at the ceiling.

-:-:-

"Oh, so you decided to show up today?" Kirin asked, though it sounded an awful lot like he was trying not to sound sarcastic. He immediately grabbed a coffee mug. "I thought you weren't coming today. Getting sick again."

"I'm healthy as a horse. You know that. The only thing wrong with me is that I have nasty migraines... If there are any ones that aren't so bad," Mukuro replied. "I was pulling an all-nighter again and I guess I feel into a deep sleep so I didn't hear the alarm clock. I try to keep it low. I normally wake up if Zamyatin walks into a wall or something... Equate that sound to the sound of a one hundred page book falling on its side in the shelf."

"You sure?"

"Oh, yeah. I've been doing it for days now. It's more likely to happen if I don't sleep that long. Even I have my limits, Juarez. And it was about forty five minutes ago that Zamyatin dropped an ice cube down my shirt to wake me up so I can tell him where the thermometers are. He said he was feeling like he had a fever. I'm leaning more towards options A- he's hung over or B- he just wanted to watch the mercury shoot out the thing. He also kindly told me I had to go to work. I can believe he was a little sick. He looked like he was coming down with something."

"That sounds kind of made up."

"You say that every time I explain something to you. If I were lying, you'd probably tell I was lying."

"Not if you're lying about lying."

"If the prior statement was truth, then yes, that'd be true." She turned to Kurama. "So it looks like you're having to do more filing." (To which he mumbled to himself, "Funny, I had a dream this exact event occurred a week ago.")

Kirin cocked a brow, or at least she assumed he did since his face was covered up. (A common question in the office- "Do normal people see the mask too?") "Why is it that there's always filing to do?"

Mukuro shrugged. "Thought you'd notice. Zamyatin makes sure there's always filing to do. He has some weird urge to constantly rearrange things. Can't sit still. Though he claims someone keeps messing with his work. He used to be an addict though that wasn't his choice. Kind of makes some of his mannerisms make more sense to you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, it give me the creeps. It seems like you open up the DSM-IV to any page and put your thumb in a random spot, he'd have it?"

"Suppose it related to sexual identity?" No answer. "He also used to hide in the closet. I know because I went to go get something from there and he was sitting there just chewing on... Well, if he had any nails he's be biting them down til there was nothing left. I asked him what he was doing in there. And he just looked at me with the most pathetic expression. And just said he didn't know. I knew there was something else. He doesn't do it anymore but I can still see some ghosts of that whole event recurring. He has his reasons. I don't think there's much blame we can put on him. Maybe I'm shoving myself in too personally. But that's what I've got on that subject. Enough of that. Go and do whatever you need to do."

Apparently Kirin felt the need to vent his views to the nearest bystander, who happened to be Kurama, who didn't want to concern himself with anything that was remotely related to gossip. (And by his definition, this really was a fine piece to tell to your nosy Aunt Sally who owned a pair of binoculars to watch the neighbors sunbathe naked with.) "Sometimes she's got a real bleeding heart. I don't know why she bothers with him. She'd take a bullet to the heart for him and he still wouldn't give her the time of day. He just needs to learn respect for someone for once. I don't give a damn that he was a first sergeant (_Um, General apparently._ Kurama didn't feel like correcting him though.) in the Soviet army or a member of the NKVD or Cheka. In fact, I don't care if he personally pushed the nuke button on the US. It doesn't matter. He's still rude. I actually don't believe her input about the closet. It's too weak for his standards." He paused and sighed. "I should stop before I say anything else about your partner."

He saw no escape from answering and thus involving himself in the situation. "I'm not going to come at you with an axe if that's what you're saying."

"I should be glad."

"...That I read _John Dies at the End._"

-:-:-

"Yusuke," Kuwabara tackled him in the hall like a tiger on its prey. "You. Me. Right now. Away from here."

"No, no, no, with nice heaping helping of HELL NO. I don't swing that way, man." Yusuke backed off.

"Oh shut up. We're going to that Lovecraft place right now."

"Have you looked at the damn clock? It's barely going to be fifth period. You can wait a couple of hours, and I wanna get my attendance record better so Keiko can get off my back. What do you need from there so bad anyway?"

"I need to learn German so I can speak to my true love!"

"True love? You might not see her again. And I don't think she speaks German. Hiei speaks Russian... Wait, Russian IS a language, right?"

"Duh! What does he have to do with anything?"

"They speak the same language. You know, apparently... Uh..."

"Hey, shut up and get to class!" the security guard practically screamed at the top of his lungs.

And by the end of the day, Kuwabara completely forgot about his mission in life. He went home to go play some _Call of Duty_ or _Halo 2_. Yusuke forgot which one was more important to him apparently. He did, however, have some business seeing Mukuro. He walked into her office and took the newspaper out of his thin backpack as he seated himself in front of her desk. Mukuro was on the phone, somewhat frantically asking, "Hello?" to a voice that was breathing deeply as if he just finished some strenuous exercise. Or maybe something less innocent than that.

And the final question: "Is there something you want?"

And the caller practically screamed (at which point Yusuke had a nasty suspicion about who this caller was though he couldn't really justify it) "You." She flung the phone into the wall with such force that it even put a hole in the wall. Yusuke saw he drop to her seat, her eye spasming. He had a bad feeling about all this.

"Um... This is a bad time so I'll just..." Yusuke started to get up.

"No, it's okay. I'm just a little spooked by it, I guess you can say. I'm getting a nasty migraine again, but I can still live. So what is it you need?"

"Okay... I saw this in the newspaper." He opened the newspaper to the local section and turned to the crime section. "There's this report in here. At what is this? Six in the morning. In Tarukane's mansion."

"As in a robbery? I don't see why you would be concerned."

"No, murder. It says something like the back of his head was smashed in and his head was thrown against a wall. The window behind him was shattered too... Geez, who reported this though...? Hey, Hiei came home last night, right?"

"Yes, he did. At two o' clock this morning. So if the murder did occur at six, it wasn't him. I was awake at the time and was working so I can back that claim should he be a suspect. If he did somehow manage to do it, it would probably be with the use of the back of a rifle from how I'm picturing it. It couldn't've been him. He doesn't use his rifle anymore."

Anymore? "Just wanted to make sure. Didn't want our favorite little man doesn't disappear for something like that. With that whole Yukina thing, I'd feel bad."

"I doubt she knows. Or suspects. That's what I got from him. As long as he keeps holding back like he does."

_Come to think of it... I only see something about one body. And that's Tarukane. But there should be the Toguro brothers too. Does that mean...? No, he probably got some servants get rid of them or something._

"So is that all?" Mukuro asked.

"Basically it. You sure you're okay?"

"Keep asking that question and you'll be a philosopher one day. I have migraines. I need to drink my coffee today."

Kirin walked in, apparently conflicted as to whether or not he should check on her or not. "I heard something break a few minutes ago and I wanted to make sure you were..." He noticed the phone on the ground. "Oh."

"We need a new phone," Mukuro explained non-nonchalantly.

"Yes. That we do."

-:-:-

Two days passed. Mukuro got everyone's attention and announced, "Okay we're going to have some company quality time... And stuff."

A woman, a self-proclaimed skeptic at that, replied, "You just don't want to work today, do you?"

"Who asked you, Ferris? Santiago did this all the time too. I don't want to change that now. It's a great policy anyway." There was a knock at the door. "Someone's here. Look busy." _But who would knock on the door? Most people just walk right in._ She opened the door and in walked Yukina, holding the badge in her hand.

"Um... James Madison dropped this. I wanted him to have his object back." She held it out to Mukuro. "I didn't look at it or anything. I thought it would be private and I'd hate to look at something like that... Um.. Is James Madison here?"

"I don't know anyone named James Madison." She took it though she already knew exactly who it belonged to. "Zamyatin. Well, his real name's Zamyatin anyway. I have no clue why he had to pick James Madison of all names."

"Oh... Well, has he needed it?"

"Hasn't been here in a few days actually. Been sick. He might come today or tomorrow once he realizes that he doesn't have it with him anymore. Are you going home?"

"Home? You mean as in... Um..."

"**Are you staying in this world or are going back to the other one? You don't seem all that familiar with anything in the area so I assumed.**"

"**You understand this language?"**

"**Yes. I know more than I should. It just seems easier this way, if you ask me. Now about your leaving..."**

"**I don't think... I'm not sure what to do."**

"**Because what I'm thinking for you to go back is that you'll end up somewhere in the United States, if that. So then you'll have to catch a boat or a plane to the Soviet Union, which is basically where you're from. Then that would be pretty difficult because you can't hide that you're from that area. And no one likes that. That journey over the sea in itself is quite a journey. You'll see a lot of hideous things. Not even I would want to see all that just to get home. But it's all your choice. If you stay here, all I have to do is set up a file for you, have that approved, help you find a job and get you a place to live."**

"**I suppose I would do that. There's something I want to do too. This would be the perfect place to start."**

"**Let's go into my office and get started on that."** They both walked in, offered a seat for Yukina directly in front of the desk. She took an application that looked almost exactly like a resume from a filing cabinet. "**I need you to put your name and information that you can fill. If need be, we'll find an alternate way to fill in any unknowns..."** The door was immediately kicked open.

"Hey, Mukuro, you know where my badge..." Hiei noticed Yukina. "Oh."

"I have no idea where you dropped it. I don't own your things. And quit breaking down the door. It never did you any harm." She reached into her pocket and threw the badge to him. "She found it for you. You owe here something according to your system. Are you going back home or do you feel good enough to stay here?"

He sighed. "I'll stay here. Might as well. I need to fix that shelf."

"Sure. **So back to this..."**

"**Um... I don't have a last name. Do I leave that one blank?"** Yukina asked.

"**Make one up. I can't think of one at the moment. I'm not good with Russian names. I've heard they're weird. Like they come up being like 'Son of Sergei' or something... Or am I getting it confused with the patronymic?" **Hiei nodded. She shrugged.** "But... Vygostsky or Pavlov... I don't think you wanna be named after someone who made dogs drool though..."**

"**Lvov. It's a good name," **Hiei cut in. "**By the way, where did you end up going after we got you out of there? I thought for sure you would have gone straight home. How are you thinking of getting anywhere?"**

"**I don't know where I was last night. I sat on a bench after I got tired from walking so much and I think I fell asleep there because the next thing I remembered was that it was morning," **Yukina replied sheepishly.

"**What? Didn't they offer to give you a place to stay for the night? I mean, why would you let a girl your age wander the streets all alone? Don't they know the things that prey on people like you at night?"** Angry aura, angry aura.

"The real question would be then, would you even trust either one to be alone with her?" Mukuro asked sarcastically.

"You've got a point there." Completely missing the point.

She looked confused but answered. "**They did, but I didn't want to cause any trouble for them so I didn't go with either of them. They insisted that I go but I really didn't..."**

"**Yeah, as I told you before, I can arrange a place for you to stay and then help you get a job. You have to look like a normal citizen or 'people' might start thinking there's something wrong here. Obviously you're not a trouble maker. I'll do the rest of this for you when we have something set up for you. You should come in tomorrow."** Mukuro explained, taking the application and putting it in a folder which she then labeled: LVOV, YUKINA.

"**Oh. Okay."** She paused, hesitantly. "**Um, so this is a police station?"**

"**Something like that. Why?"**

"**I know it's silly but... Is it possible that you could help me find my brother? I just really want to see him again..."**

"**Sorry. I don't think I can. I don't think I'm allowed to put an investigation up like that. I could try to help somehow though. Do you remember what he looks like? Or his name at least?"**

"**No, I don't think so... I think I know his name but... What was it...? I associate him with black. I don't know why. He must have black hair if that's true. They... they threw him off the island when they knew he was there. I vaguely remember that because I think I was in someone's arms. Someone I didn't know. I also remember my mother calling me by a different name too... But what did she call him? I was... Yulia I think...? So he was..."**

"_We both agreed that Yulia was a pretty name for a girl. I told him that was my name because I saw it on a paper nearby. We didn't talk about boy's names. I think I'll use his name... Hey, Rui... Is this what foreigners call love?"_ Hiei put the book he was about to shelf down. "**And this island is how far above the rest of the world? Even if your brother were to fall into water which would have saved him from the fall, he would have drowned. So what makes you think he's still alive?"**

"**Well... I just know that he would be. And there was something I was told that... Um, Mr. Madison, why did you come to save me?"**

"**What kind of question is that?"**

"**Well, those two Yusuke and Kuwabara looked surprised when they saw you. I could draw their faces but they wouldn't be any good."**

"**Draw?"**

"**Yes, I have... Picture memory, I think it's called?"**

"**Photographic memory? I have that too."**

"**Yes, that! And I also noticed that they didn't have a badge like you did. (**_Well played. Gotta hand it to her, she's noticing more things than any one else would. Probably more than I would too... _Mukuro thought.) **So I thought it was odd that you would come unexpectedly like that. And then you also speak the same language as me."**

"Look, I heard about this mission, and I heard there was a Russian girl in trouble, too. I wanted one of my own people to be saved so I rushed in like an idiot and saved you too. The rest is coincidental. What're you implying?"

"Oh well... I don't know." She turned to Mukuro. "Thank you, Misses..."

"I'm Reeve. You can leave it at that. It's easier to remember for most people."

"Okay." She walked out. _She called me Yuliya... She called him Heinrich. His name was Heinrich because the man she loved was Heinrich Reinhard._

"So she may never know. As long as you won't tell her, she might not." Mukuro sighed, and put the file in a drawer.

"She can figure it out on her own. Don't act like you think she can't. I'm not rushing in and telling her I am." He finished arranging the books in a hurry.

"Why?

"I need something from the closet."

"That's what it's there for."

He walked in and shut the door, sat on a plastic box whose contents dated back to the seventies and put his head in his hands. _I can't tell you. You wouldn't want me after what I've done. Besides that... Mother, you were foolish to believe that man loved you. Don't you remember what he did to you mother? Don't you? Mother?_

_...Why have you forsaken me? Mother.  
_

**/And there was none.**

1. I don't remember explaining how people see demons. If I did, here's a refresher. Basically anyone who has no sixth sense can't see a demon as they are and thus see them as human. That gets explained.  
2. The DSM-IV is like the psychological encyclopedia for mental disorders. I can't remember what it means. It's used within a country, not internationally if I remember right. Don't ask me what DSM stands for. I think by now they have V.  
3. NKVD and the Checka are both Stalin's secret police.  
4. The _John Dies at the End reference..._ There was the part in the introduction where Wong says tells a story about killing a a man with an axe, who later comes back to life. I'm too tired to explain more.  
5. Lev Vygotsky had ideas on child development. Ivan Pavlov made an experiment in which he conditioned a dog to salivate at the sound of a bell because it associated the bell with food.  
6. Victor is not the younger Toguro's first name.  
7. James Madison was the shortest president.

I'll see you next time. Much love, JC.

(edit: And the plot thickens... so does Teddy. I tried to imply the circumstances between Hina and Hiei's father... It gets explicitly stated in the future... a future I really need to make happen. Shit!)


	16. ThDrugist

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: I don't think that hurt/comfort and family/friends doesn't deserve to be a genre. Those are freaking themes! Gah! And this is also the chapter with the awesome dream sequence. After reading it, you'll probably figure out why this chapter's my favorite so far. Mukuro's full name sounds weird when said together. She's one of those people that's hard to make a last name fit with. I just thought Reeve and Reever were the awesomest last names ever._

Chapter 16 Th_Drugist

"Zamyatin, Minamino." Mukuro beckoned for them to enter her office. "I haven't actually assigned you anything in a while since you've gotten tied in with Yusuke's stuff lately. Actually, that's not much of a problem. Maybe Spirit World'll get off our backs if we show that we're more than willing to support the Spirit Detective. I also think you would want a change of pace every so often."

"Just give us the mission already. Quit dancing around the topic. I swear you'd spend a couple of hours just to answer a yes or no question," Hiei grumbled.

Apparently she decided not to even acknowledge his statement. "Oh, and before I go on, I won't be here for a week next month. Kirin'll be taking care of you guys assuming that a certain someone doesn't decide to mysteriously disappear."

"...I wouldn't want to be home when you're like that."

Again, refusal to acknowledge his statement. "He won't put you on any hard cases, Minamino. If he does at all. He likes to make sure I don't miss anything... In addition to his dislike for having to be in a position of power. He's a man that prefers to sit back and watch the flowers grow, even if he looks intimidating." She shrugged.

"Right. Just save him from worrying about you 'cause for all he knows, it's just a magical week long illness conveniently around the week of Christmas that you also conveniently get at the same time every year, yet you fail to never get sick again for the rest of the year."

"Christmas has become a really shallow holiday. And you'd agree. Even if you are half German." Which she took to be a truth because he didn't argue with her.

The door opened. At that moment, Mukuro rushed to stand in front of the desk and snapped straight to attention and saluted the visitor. Hiei nudged Kurama to do the same. After a second, he hissed, "Present arms!"

"What?" Kurama tried not to move his lips or look at him.

"Just salute, idiot!"

"Mukuro Reeve, I'm come to inform you that March the sixteenth to the twenty-third you are to report to San Francisco for the semi-annual meeting of the Special Crimes Unit of the United States. You are to make the appropriate arrangements with regards to your role in this station. The address will be sent to you email within the next three days. Do attend," the woman said.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am."

"And do behave yourself as well. And that goes for you, too," She jerked her head towards Hiei. They answered again in unison though Kurama faltered a bit. The woman glanced at Kurama, her expression not changing. "Each and every one of you. Good day to you all." Once she left, the three all loosened up, and Mukuro took a seat again.

"Well, that was a moment's inconvenience. I really hate having to answer them. I feel like I'm in a cult or something," Mukuro growled.

In a perfect imitation of the woman, Hiei said, "'Do behave yourself.' What nerve. Like we're a bunch of children that can't sit still for five seconds. I didn't even do anything in this world and they're telling me that. If they decided they had jurisdiction on the other world, they'd probably charge me with war crimes while they're at it."

"Yeah, but don't forget that you also joined on your own."

"But sooner or later..."

"I know, I know. All of us are children though. They think just because they've been on this longer that they can talk to us like we're a pile of, well, horse crap on a plate shoved in their faces. Actually, if it were Youda they sent this time, you'd really have fun. The guy just never liked me. Ever since he first laid eyes on me. I'm not sure if it's his opinion or someone else's though. And he also hates communists so all the more reason for you to love him. I think he also hates French people, too, now that I think about it... Actually that would explain a lot." The phone rang and she grumbled something in what sounded like French. She indicated that she wouldn't be long as she answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, we haven't talked in a while."

Her blood froze. She tried to keep her voice steady. "Who is this?"

"If only I knew where you were. I only have this phone number though. I miss you... What was your name again?"

She attempted to swallow a lump in her throat, hands beginning to shake. The phone began to slide out of her hand. Hiei caught it and answered,"Who is this? You're that fool that keeps calling, aren't you? Keep this up and I'll track you down and..."

"I'd like to SEE you TRY." He hung up.

Hiei grumbled a curse in his native tongue. "I took care of it for you. We need that phone, too. You need to quit breaking them."

"Y-yeah, I know... God..." Her eye was spasming.

"You feeling okay?" Kurama asked.

"Yeah... It's just... another migraine."

"You should take a medication like that. Getting them this often isn't good for you." He stood up. "I'll get you some water." She shook her head and indicated for him to sit.

"I don't trust prescriptions or OTC drugs with anything. I don't even take Tylenol or Advil if I'm having a bad enough one. I just need some coffee and I'll be okay." She rubbed a finger on her temple. She shut her eyes and opened them. "Now your case, before we were so rudely interrupted twice... I just want you to take down this drug dealer. It sounds more like what you signed up for, doesn't it Minimino?"

"If that's it, then what's the point of having US do it?" Hiei asked, cocking a brow.

"I honestly don't know. It has something to do with out of body experiences or something like that. The dealer's probably a demon, and that's probably why it ended up in my box. I have the address on this paper. Ah, that white's burning my eyes." She thrust it out to Kurama, refusing to look at it again. "You can take your time on this one. I don't care. It'll be hard to do in a few days."

"You should go home and rest if you can't even look at that without causing yourself more pain," Hiei said, beginning to feel uneasy. _Hell, I've seen her sit through worse stuff than that, and she didn't even bat an eye. Actually, she had the nerve to laugh like it was the funniest thing in the world once. This isn't... Oh, what am I saying? She's just so damn weird.  
_

"Your sympathy's starting to confuse me, Zamyatin. And I thought my problems didn't matter to you."

Hiei shrugged, and he and his partner walked out. "And take a medication? Don't be a fool, Minamino. You know it's not just a migraine that's bothering her."

"Yeah, but sounding like we fell for it... That's about all she'll let us do for her," Kurama replied. "You can't hand pills to someone who has no mouth to swallow them."

-.-.-

"Here we are. 5480 East Harding way. And it's in a foreclosed home. Well, that's clever," Kurama said, eying the paper in his hand.

"Looks like it's been abandoned for years," Hiei added.

"It takes a few days. Let's just go in." He turned the knob. "They locked it. Not surprising."

"No, Minamino, they'd leave the door open so anyone could just prance in and say, 'Hey we're going to arrest you for drug dealing!' 'Oh, I'll stop right away, my good sir, I'm so bad but I'll reform myself right now!'" Hiei body slammed the door, but it didn't budge. He cursed and grumbled, "It's cooler when Mukuro does it."

"...You want me to do it? Since you don't weigh as much..."

"Why does everybody say that?"

"...Because it's true." Kurama managed to break it within three tries. They walked into the house cautiously. The walls were covered with peeling wallpaper, revealing crackling wood. The windows were broken so there was glass scattered around the room. All in all, it appeared as though no one had been in the house recently. They paused, listening for any movement. There was none. They split up and began to search the rooms. They reconvened in the main hall again.

"They must've left. Try and find any evidence that we could use or anything that could tell us of any possibility of them returning. If we don't, we might not be able to continue..."

"They're dealers. They can't be that stupid to leave something like that around."

"What, you know from experience?" Jokingly.

"Hey, that's not funny, my company was forced to get high on meth before going to battle." Awkward silence. Kurama loosened his tie, feeling a bit uneasy as Hiei opened a drawer full of pens and scraps of crumbled receipts and post-its. "I don't know, but this person appears to really like Jack in the Box. How they can eat there everyday... I don't know why he can't cook himself."

"So nothing can compare to Mukuro's cooking?"

"Would you shut up? ...And she is a pretty good cook, I'll give her that."

"Hey, did the file say what this drug was supposed to be? Do you take it as a pill, smoke it, inject it...? I didn't get a chance to really look in to it before we left."

Hiei opened another drawer and reached in as he looked up at Kurama. "Let's see what I remember... 'Beware as you search the perimeter of the building because this drug is...'" He felt something in the drawer prick his palm. He quickly withdrew his hand and saw blood smeared on his palm. He pulled the whole drawer out and turned it over, revealing its contents- needles and some which still contained amounts of the drug. "They're needles, and these have the crap in it still so they're bound to check back in.

"Your hand... Tell me you didn't."

"We need to get the search finished as fast as possible before I start acting out. I don't know what this drug could do to me."

"Didn't Mukuro ever tell you not to rush into a crime scene and cram your hands into stuff like you just did?"

"Mukuro says lots of things, you think I actually think about half the stuff she says?!"

"You should. She used to be your partner, and you live with her, too."

"And I'm not home half the time anyway so it doesn't matter. Let's just..." His speech began to slow and slur. The room started to shift around. His body started to feel heavy. "...get out of here..."

"Yeah, we should... You're starting to bleed all over the place."

"Are you listening to yourself...? I just got pricked... I can't bleed that much... Isn't the vein on the other side of the hand...? No, there's capillaries and vessels too... Would you shut..." The voices were getting louder. The room was spinning faster. "Shut up, shit!" He started to ramble on in Russian.

Kurama sniffed the air, suddenly catching on to something. He looked at Hiei and quickly walked towards the pantry, intending to make the quickest inspection before getting Hiei out of the house. _It smells like something dead. And there's a sweet smell like... Formaldehyde. Or... It's also got a smell like bleach or mothballs. I can't describe it._

Kurama walked to the pantry and saw blood on the doorknob. He tapped on the door to make sure whether it was still open, which it was. He pushed it open further and saw someone with their body torn open. In their mouth was their heart, stomach, and liver and the rest of their organs were dropped on the ground in front of his feet, squished as though someone had been stepping on them. _What's that? Something tucked under his arm..._

He took the broom and lifted the man's arm. It was a box. With the handle of the broom, he flipped the lid to see if there was anything of importance in the box. As soon as he lifted the lid, gas began to spray out. It was the strange mixture of sweet and chemicals. He reached out and slammed it shut as quickly as possible. _What... What the hell was that? Oh, I feel a little light headed... I don't like this._ Hiei gasped twice. When Kurama stepped backwards to see what he was doing, he saw Hiei's eyes rolled back in his head. _Not good. I need to get him home. I'll call Mukuro, and then I'll get out of here. That gas... I'm really not liking this at all._

When he got back in the car, he saw in the rear-view mirror the silver haired man was looking back at him where his reflection was supposed to be. He plucked a hair from his head. Still black. But still..._  
_

-.-.-

"Hey, you're Heinrich's boy, aren't you?" the German asked him. He never remembered Hiei's name. Apparently the name Vladien Lvov was too foreign, too reminiscent of communism, too un-German to be worthy of his memory. Hiei returned the favor, only remembering the man as annoying Nazi number four thousand four hundred fifty-three. And the man already knew the answer. Reason one, Hiei looked like as many people remarked, "a carbon copy of Reichsenfuher Heinrich Reinhard," and reason two, the damn guy asked him practically everything he saw him and slapped him on the back as he laughed at his answer like it was the greatest joke in the world. (Hell, maybe it was. The great interpreter slept with a communist woman and got her pregnant with a son- a son who became a general, no less.) "Hey, you're coming with us to dinner. We have a special seat just for you, First Sergeant."

_There's always a seat for me. _He thought, _And I'm not a first sergeant, you stupid bastard. The only reason you're doing this is because I'm the son of the puppet master's assistant. If it weren't for him, you would never want to come near a dirty communist like me. I would have just been another brick in the wall._ "Yes, sir, I would be honored." And so he put on a fake smile.

"Come here, then..." He turned around and pushed the large doors open. He lead Hiei to his seat. He was seated between two Nazis. He looked up and down the table which seemed to be a mile long and saw all the men looked the same, were doing the exact same thing at the same time like some never ending mirror. And there were their wives sitting over a basket laying one egg after another. They cracked them open, revealing a hidden prize with ranged from a gun to a chicken to a slice of bread. They attempted to bring them to their husband's attentions who only ignored them. At one end was the fuhrer's wife, Eva Braun, sitting and looking completely brain dead.

"And now the fuhrer and the man who's graced us with his presence for the first time, Premier Josef Stalin!" That was the minister of Foreign Affairs, Adolf Hitler Jr. (Of course, the position didn't really exist. It was just there to make the kid feel like he was helping his father.)

And the two men came on pale horses. Everyone applauded- except for the fuhrer's wife who only banged her head on the table in response. Once the two sat at opposite ends of the table, Hiei looked down and saw a plate full of food. It was a small loaf of bread. He cautiously cut into it with the butter knife and puss began to flow from it. He made a grunt of disgust and decided to take a drink. The liquid was thick and he saw it pulsing. He put it back on the table. He saw the men were going behind a curtain, undressing as they walked over there. He didn't move, he just stayed in his seat and watched the wives congregate in a corner, showing each other the gifts from their eggs. He finally got tired of watching the wives, deciding to see what was happening behind the curtain. He saw the men lining up to copulate with a young woman, and he was angry to see it was Yukina. Just then, Hiei saw a man finish and walk to him. It was Heinrich. Hiei removed the dagger from his pocket and impaled him. He tuned the blade and heard a door unlock. He rolled over Heinrich's body and two hands came up from the hole that Heinrich's body was covering. He grabbed the hands and went into the hole. The two hands belonged to two women he knew well. It was Rui and...

"Mother..." Hiei reached out to her, but she slapped his hand so hard it turned red.

"I'm not your mother, Hiei," she replied.

"No, you are. And that's not my real name. You know that. My name's really Heinrich. You called me that. From the moment, you saw me you called me Heinrich after... after my father."

"That's not true, and you know that as a fact. Your mother simply said 'Heinrich' because she was cursing him. And she was glad that your parasitic self was out of her body. She was glad that soon you were going to be gone."

"That's not true. I remember..."

"You don't remember anything correctly. Memory alone didn't save all those innocents who were executed for crimes they never committed. Shouldn't you be an expert on such things, General Lvov or that false name you're using now Zamyatin?"

He didn't know what to say. "And Yuliya..."

"Yukina."

"Who are you? If you're not my mother, who are you?"

"I'm Dante."

"Rui" introduced herself as well, "Vergil."

He looked at his surroundings. It was like looking down someone's throat. Dante and Vergil shoved him down the cave until they reached stairs going down. He stared at the signs above the stairs for a moment ("Beware of dog" "Watch your step" "One way") and proceeded down them before the two would push him down. At the bottom of the stairs he saw Kurama guarding a gate, a rifle held at Right Shoulder arms, and when Kurama noticed the three he went straight to Port Arms. Hiei recognized the gate- it was the one that surrounded Moscow. The gate was covered with horrible attempts to cover the graffitied four lettered words typically referring to Germans and Americans. Kurama began to tense up, his finger on the trigger, as the two women pushed Hiei towards him.

"Peace, Cerberus," Dante said. Cerberus nodded in response and went to Left Shoulder Arms after opening the gate for them. He heard Cerberus whisper as they went in, "Well, don't put him through any heavy stuff, okay?"

It was the inside of a dungeon. People were chained to the walls, waiting to be taken into the rooms behind steel doors. Behind those doors, Hiei heard screaming and then two doors opened, tossing out Yusuke and Kuwabara. Yukina fell from a large hole in the ceiling and men that he knew from the army and the NKVD all fought for her. In the end, the man he knew to be Sergeant Kerensky won out. He dragged her into the room.

"Yuliya..." Hiei mumbled to himself.

"Don't call your sister by that false name. Oh, I also hope she's out of earshot now so she won't know that she's your sister because you claim that there's a gun held against your head, and the gunman'll shoot you if you tell," Dante said and backhanded him.

Vergil shrugged and explained, "You cannot fight it, you know. They will always take in people depending on how many are brought to be punished and how many are brought to be the punishers."

"Just as planned." Dante watched and tapped her wrist, indicating the limping figure that came their way was on time. Trapped in the endless cycle.

"Look who's here. It's the beggar." She gave the figure a swift kick in the knees, knocking it over. When it hit the ground, Dante stomped on the small of its back and spat on its face. They gave Hiei a questioning look for a moment when he didn't join in and continued their beating of "the beggar." When they stopped, "the beggar" stood up, slumped over, and straightened up just for a moment to give the three a wry (and obviously faked) smile. It was then that Hiei recognized her as Mukuro, a more pale and emaciated version of her. She held out two shaky hands and bowed her head.

"We also call The Beggar the Hermit when the desire comes to us. It never complains. It's gone through so many names and was never satisfied by any of them. Let's name of few- Thomas Johnson, James Hale, Albert Clancy... I can't think of any feminine names..." Vergil turned to Dante who had no idea either. "Well, the point is that you can give it any name you want. It could be anyone you choose."

"'It?' But she's obviously a woman," Hiei said.

"I thought I made that clear. It can be anything you want. It doesn't know which it is. It could be your mother if you truly wanted it to be. It's had so many acquired personae, it doesn't even know who itself really is, if it even had an identity in the first place. All it knows is that it wants a persona to please someone. Go ahead and give it a try. Well, your first statement made an impact..." Indicating that the Hermit had changed her posture.

He groaned, dreading the outcome. "Fine... Your name... It's Mukuro. And your last name's Reeve just because you thought it was cool, apparently."

The Hermit lifted her gaze. "Yes." And said nothing more.

"Don't forget that that's the one you have to punish," Dante said matter-of-factly.

"I'll do what to her?!" Hiei twisted around to stare at her.

"Okay, that's new for you. Change her persona to someone you don't know or don't like."

"But why? And either way, the face is the same."

"What, you hate her but not enough to kill her? You've tortured enough lives. In the end, all you've come to know and attempted to love with your stone cold heart will in turn be tortured by your hands."

"But that's not..." Everyone pointed at him and stared at him with faces with only the eye sockets to look in his direction. And they closed in closer and closer... They grabbed him. They put their fingers in his eye sockets... The hermit, the beggar, Mukuro watched before turning away to be beaten elsewhere.

-.-.-

Hiei sat up feeling the chill of sweat all over his body. He looked across the room and out the window. The blinds were closed. He sighed.

There were three small taps on the door, and Mukuro opened the door just a crack. She walked in when she saw that he was awake. "Looks like you're up." She proceeded to pull up a chair next to the bed and quickly took his temperature. "Can't have that damn drug in your system. Can't believe you would do something like that but... Looks like you're alright now. Physically, I mean. Or maybe not. You look like you're going to puke. Or... Well, you know what I'm getting at." She stood up. She moved the trashcan next to the bed in the case that Hiei couldn't make it to the bathroom. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't need it. He didn't think he had anything in him to vomit up. Still.

"They're in the walls, you know. They're listening," Hiei whispered. The voices were there. Just as they always were. They were putting their hands in the walls. For a moment, he saw the lady in white. Or the lady in white whose name he did know. But right now, she was the lady in white. She appeared behind the hermit, the beggar, Mukuro just for that moment and disappeared again. Because even the lady in white has forsaken him.

She cocked a brow and pressed her ear against the wall. She spoke softly, humming as she listened. "Hm... Yeah, I hear them, too."

"No, you don't."

"I could tell them to get the hell out of this place if you want me to."

"You don't think they're there."

She shrugged. "Well, I know where I'm not wanted..." She started to walk out but Hiei grabbed her by the wrist. She pulled back.

"Why're you doing that?" Hiei asked.

"...I hit my arm on the corner of the desk, and I think it bruised so it hurts like a bitch if you touch it."

"You're so full of crap." The fax machine on the desk started beeping. "Get me that, would you? ...So you'll wanna take a look at it?"

"Yeah. He just needs you to give an outline of what's going on right now just so he knows."

"That's why nothing ever gets done."

She sat back down next to the bed and took his temperature again. "I don't know why I keep doing this. You always feel like you're burning up." He grabbed her wrist again. "Would you quit that? What did I just tell you?"

"I know when people are lying, for one. I've done it for years so I know. And then I also felt it the first time." He paused. "...I never knew they were there."

"Because you never touched my wrists. I never let you touch me. There was never a reason to. There still is no reason to. Don't you remember or do you still have that drug in your system? Do you remember this? We just live together, work together, nothing more. We're still not friends. We never were. So we never had to know these things about each other. I don't know anything besides the basics just as you don't know much about me. Just the way you wanted. And the way it should be for me."

It was silent. "...So does it really hurt?"

"...Not so much anymore. I guess I grew into them or something. Actually, I doubt I ever grew much since they first put them on me." Silence again. She stood up and her tone changed back to the way it always was. Mukuro Reeve, the Chief. The hermit, the beggar... The empress. "So I take it you'll be coming to work tomorrow?'

And here was Hiei Heinrichovich Zamyatin, legally Vladien Heinrichovich Lvov... Born Heinrich Reinhard. "I guess."

"Good. By the way, your partner's gone MIA. That's unlike him."

"Yeah..." Looking out the window again. "It is."

-.-.-

_Nov. 23 2008. IM AWAKE. Was in my apartment at three woke up at two am in the bathroom._

**/And there was none.**

1. Actually, formaldehyde stinks really badly. And they used to put soldiers on meth during World War II. So I've heard. I usually heard it in relation to Kamikaze pilots but...  
2. Basically in Demon World, the Nazi party was able to hold power. A revolution happened so you have Nazi East Germany and a democratic but dictatorial West Germany. (What? It's possible!)  
3. Reichsenfuhrer is the equivalent of a General. I'm not going to name the leaders when they appear... because ffnet says I can't have them in here anyway. Whatever.  
4. Dante and Vergil are references to the Divine Comedy, in which Dante travels through hell. Or if you're a Devil May Cry fan, you could just picture those two. But... Please don't.  
5. Attention is when a soldier just stands up all straight and whatnot. Right Shoulder arms is when the rifle is held so that it rests on the right shoulder (think of an anime character resting their sword on their shoulder). Port arms is when both hands are holding the rifle so one is near the trigger and the other is closer to the... Tip part. It's easier to explain with pictures. Left shoulder is the same as right shoulder... Obviously it's on the left shoulder. Google pictures if it's confusing.  
Much love, JC.

(edit: And shit gets real! Once you realize Hiei's schizophrenic all along.)


	17. THE EYES

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: __Started to read H.P. Lovecraft's works. It's weird. I can understand him for the most part (He loves using big words. Can you say purple prose?) And he is pretty creepy. He's worse than Mr. King, I'll tell you that. You know, if you know what he's trying to tell you. But he's a huge influence on the big names in horror. In fact, King himself even mentioned him as an inspiration. And Poe, too.  
_

Chapter 17 The EYES

"You know, Yusuke, it's been a while since we went out together like this. At least now, since everything's pretty much back to normal," Keiko said, shuddering at the memory of the Maze Castle incident. After a slight pause, she added, "I hope so anyway. Since you still haven't told me a _thing._ And I'm pretty sure I earned the right after that weird Russian guy broke in to the classroom that day."

"Uh... Yeah. Have I gone missing at any point? Okay, then quit nagging. And since we're at it, tell me... Why is it that we're going clothes shopping... For _you_? Can't you bug one of your emo friends to go with you?" Yusuke protested. He stepped out of sight behind some clothes racks which contained mainly P coats. "People are thinking I'm a pervert. Let's get a move on."

She rolled her eyes. "For the last time, Yusuke. They're not emo. They just happen to like punk rock. Big difference. Do you see me walking around in black twenty-four-seven?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Emos, punk rockers, goths, and frickin vampire kids. They all look the same and act the same. You're the only normal one in that group, you know that?"

"With you included, then I give you a pretty positive yes."

"You... Then, take your mom shopping with you. I don't wanna see what you're buying... Unless you're going to a more interesting section..." He jerked a thumb towards the lingerie section, chuckling.

She glared at him and then turned back to the shelf. "I think it's a perfect chance for quality time. We can catch up on everything we missed out on. I mean, you don't tell me anything anymore. Not like we used to."

"Cause we're not five years old and we're not married."

And Yusuke was completely ignored. "Hey, do you think this pink one or this orange one looks better? Or this one with WWF? I love pandas... But I'd hate to walk away from that cute floral pattern on that one..." She held them up next to her face. "Which one do you think looks best on me?"

"I think I'll go with option E- none of the above. What, don't look at me like that. First of all, I don't care what you pick because I just wanna get out of here. Second, I'm not a girl so I can't be all, 'OMG, that one over there totally complements your eyes.' And third... Who are you trying to impress anyway?"

"Why're you sounding so mad about that last one? Didn't you say how we're not even going out either?" Keiko added sarcastically, "You know, if you're a good boy, then I'll take you out for ice cream."

"I'm making sure you keep that promise. There's a _Coldstone_ on the way home."

"Whatever." She stared out in the distance and focused on something. She even squinted as if it were that foreign to her. "That guy... I feel like I've seen him somewhere but where...?" She shrugged after thinking it over, took the three shirts she was choosing between and turned back to Yusuke. "Let's find you some shirts. They're on sale right now, I think."

Yusuke cocked a brow. "What, you just wanna get in on the sale?"

"No. Half of your shirts are torn up. You come to school with your clothes looking okay one day but you come home looking chewed up the next. (_You don't know how right you are, actually._) I know you pick fights with everybody, but this is ridiculous. I'm surprised your mom doesn't say anything to you." It was silent. "So that Reeve lady's been working you really hard, huh? If that's how it is..."

"Reeve?"

"That blonde lady. I think she was Irish... Was she blonde? I don't know the different shades that well. I do remember she was from this place with Lovecraft in the name. It's where you work, right?"

"Kind of. Not really. I know a couple of guys from there, but we pretty much work together and... What's your problem?" Yusuke looked over his shoulder to see what Keiko was staring at. There was a tall man, standing behind them in mirror.

Keiko shoved the shirts into Yusuke's arms and stepped up to the mirror, but she didn't go around it to see who it was. In an effort to hide the shaking of her voice, she quickly said to the man, "Hey. Excuse me, sir? Is there something we can help you with? If... If you don't then I'd really appreciate it if you would stop staring at us." The tall man turned around and ran away, leaving Keiko there rubbing her arms to hide how shaky they were.

"Don't go after him if you're scared. If you told me he was there, I would have flattened him out in no time," Yusuke finally said. "Has this jack ass been following you around a lot lately?"

"No... He hasn't. But since we came to the mall, he's been following us. I could... I could just feel him there. You know how you feel someone's presence when they're behind you? It's like that. Except it was more intense... Everywhere we went, he was right there... It's just really creepy. You aren't involved in a gang or anything like that, are you?" Keiko turned around and looked at him, feeling more relaxed at the sight of him.

"Gang? Hell no. Might be some demon looking for a fight or something. Don't worry about it. The next time he comes I'll flatten him. Remember that."

Keiko laughed nervously. "I think I'm more afraid of you than I am of him."

"Okay, so let's just get out of here and forget him, and then, we'll get ice cream."

"...And cake."

"Aw, I didn't know I meant that much to you."

"No. It's for Ms. Reeve. I thought she seemed nice. She scared me a little, but she was still nice. I never got to thank her for what she did so I think I'll make her a cake." Yusuke looked a little like a deflated balloon, mostly because he was already tasting chocolate cake. "We'll do that after we run over and get you some shirts."

"And ice cream!"

"Ugh, and ice cream."

"Or we can get the best of both worlds and get an ice cream cake. I'll taste test for you."

"BUT...! It's less special if I don't make it myself."

"One ice cream cake, and then we get her an..."

"Yusuke." Awkward silence. "...What kind of cake do you think she likes?"

"Maple syrup." He received a blank look. "Okay, you don't get it. How about German chocolate? Since she loves Hiei so much..." _Even though he's just Russian._

"Who...? And German chocolate cake isn't German. It was made in Texas. I saw it on the_ Food Network._ Just go and grab yourself some shirts and meet me at the line. It's kind of long right now."

Yusuke returned to Keiko with five shirts just as she was walking to the counter. She was shivering again, and he knew what it was. Just when he was about to take matters into his own hands, Keiko tugged at his arm to tell him that they could leave. As soon as they got in the car, Keiko clutched the steering wheel and said under her breath, "He was standing behind us. How creepy can you get? Standing right behind us..."

"You should have let me handle it that time," Yusuke replied.

"But... Which one of us is he after...? Really." She looked at Yusuke. He held his breath until they drove away.

-.-.-

And the question was answered. The next few days, Yusuke started to catch glimpses of the man when he was going to school and when he was coming home. Every time he turned to see who it was, the man always disappeared from sight. (_Gotta hand it to him. Bastard's fast._) Yusuke knew despite what Keiko and Kuwabara told him that the school security and the police would not help at all. He didn't want to risk having someone else with him until he knew who it was if he could help it.

"No seriously. What's going on with this weirdo following you?" Kuwabara asked after insisting that Yusuke go to the authorities for the twentieth time.

"I really don't know, but I wish I did. It's really annoying," Yusuke replied. "You ever get a good look at him, though? I've been trying but I got nothing."

"Nope. As soon as someone notices this guy, he takes off and goes. All I can say is that it's a huge guy. And Okubo swears up and down that he looks just like the Govenator."

"He looks like the... What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Hey, if you think it's a demon, maybe we could stop off and see Mukuro about that. At that Lovecraft place. She was a cop so she should know what to do."

"Why don't I just go to the cops then? I already said no to that in case you forgot."

"No. Seriously. I've been getting weird vibes off him... It's familiar..."

"What kind of familiar?"

"What, there's different kinds now? Look, I got something to take care of so it'll be killing to birds with one stone if we do."

"Okay, fine, but don't make a huge deal out of it."

Kuwabara practically screamed like a girl who just shook hands with Edward Cullen (Or Jacob Black if she's on that team) and floated away to cloud nine. Then Yusuke smacked himself on the forehead when he realized just what business Kuwabara had to take care of.

_And here I was thinking he was serious._

_-.-.-_

They went straight to the station as soon as school was out. Just before Yusuke could get Kuwabara to restrain himself, he rushed to Hiei, practically hopping up and down in excitement.

"What the hell do you want, Kuwabara?" Hiei asked, not looking up from the file cabinet in which he was arranging files by the position of the tabs on the folders. Actually, he was really more tempted to act like he didn't know him, but there's only so much you could do in such a situation.

"Oh, hey, you remembered my name!" Apparently Kuwabara was willing to put aside any dislike he had for the man just for this moment.

"I remember everyone's name whether I want to or not. What do you want? And don't make me ask you again before I smack you on the side of the head."

Kuwabara grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "Teach me German or Russian or whatever it is you speak. Teach meee..." He started shaking Hiei until he got a punch in the gut.

_...Goddammit, and I know both._ "What for?"

Once he recovered, Kuwabara grabbed Hiei by the shoulders again and said, "So I can speak to Yukina."

"Hell no. And don't touch me. Your hands smell disgusting. I bet you don't even wash your hands."

"Well fine, if you won't teach me then I'll just sit here and sing until you crack!"

"I'm not scared of you just because you're twice my size. I've snapped the joints of people like you easily. They teach us Sambo in basic training."

"None of that meant anything to me. So I'm even less scared of you. I got a shoebox with your name on it if you decide to try and fight me."

"No amount of singing will make me submit to your will. Now fuck off."

Oh, there's a challenge. Kuwabara got in his face, and with a flourish, he began in no tune whatsoever. "So I'm sitting here all alone wondering/ why this jerk Hiei won't teach me his language/ Yeah, he's that jerk in front of me wearing black/ Why the heck is he wearing black/ cause it'll start getting warmer/ and it could be a hundred degrees but he'd still be dressing like it's below zero/ and I kind of know because I've seen him before..." He started banging in the file cabinet. "And then I ask him a favor/ And he's all like NO/ NO/ NO!/ And he's looking..." He stopped and turned around to see Mukuro standing behind him, looking more than slightly amused.

"What'd you stop for...?" she asked. "You know how dull my job is? Moments like these are worth being in danger of working for minimum wage."

"She's lying. We'll never go on minimum wage," Hiei said. He finally realized something and shoved Kuwabara to Mukuro. "Ask her about it. She speaks it good."

"Hiei, you mean well. And if this is about Yukina, which I suspect that it is, you don't really need to learn Russian. She speaks decent enough English. If you really want to learn and teach her more English, then you can find her... Somewhere. She hasn't turned up since I helped her find a job..."

"That's wonderful." Hearts, flowers, sunshine, teddy bears.

"I'll ask her about it... Just don't do that again."

Deflated balloon. "Oh yeah, and Urameshi wanted to ask you something..."

"Sure... Shove it all on me..." Yusuke sighed irritably. "I really didn't wanna mention anything about it to you. There's some guy walking around stalking me."

"You can't just go to the police? That sounds like a normal human issue," Mukuro replied nonchalantly.

"Well, about that... I have this really bad feeling about it cause I keep thinking... You remember that thing I showed you in the paper?"

"The one about Tarukane? There's another issue you have about that?"

"About what?" Hiei asked as he filled up Mukuro's mug. "And pour your own damn coffee. I'm not your servant."

"As long as you're a commie, you are. You know I don't mean it." She ran a hand through her hair and finally decided to be completely frank with him. "He was killed shortly after you left. All of you, assuming you left at different times."

"Good. Asshole deserved to die. Actually even that's too good for him."

"Don't talk like that. That's why they think you're a criminal." She turned back to Yusuke. "So how does this connect to the stalker?"

"Well, I left out something. See there were these guys called the Toguro brothers, and we killed them. Or we're pretty sure we did. But that report only mentioned one body and that had to be Tarukane. So I don't know what happened to the other two. I doubt he'd have the body moved... Unless it was just one brother..." Yusuke shook his head. _No, it had to be..._

She twisted around to Kuwabara whose face clearly read "News to me" and turned back to Yusuke. "Why didn't you say anything about that? Especially if it's the Toguros."

Kurama appeared. "I heard Toguros. You don't mean...?"

"Goddammit! Why does everyone know about them but me?" Yusuke growled.

"...You never asked," Hiei replied.

"Yeah, sure. 'Hey, could you tell me about the Toguros because I'm probably going to need that in the future.' It doesn't work like that. Seriously, who are they?"

"Well, they're kind of shady, actually. They were huge in- what was it- the late fifties, early sixties? I don't know much, but they're powerful demons. I don't believe that you could have killed them. It must have been a set up," Kurama explained. "But for what... Who knows. Was there anyone there that could have tried anything to that extent?" Yusuke and Kuwabara exchanged looks and shook their heads. "I really don't like the sound of this at all."

"I don't think they're naturals either..." Mukuro said but she failed to explain further. "And he's right. Details are shady. They just suddenly turn up raising hell... I think I know who they are, but it's just a hunch, really."

Botan came in, practically breaking down the door. "Reed-er, Reeve! Lord Koenma just got this note about the Dark Tournament!" Several people dropped what they were doing and glued their eyes on the paper in Botan's hand. "I just got here and I didn't really look at it but..."

"It'll be from when to when?"

"March sixteen to the twenty third. Uh... Yeah..." She glanced at the paper. "You'll be there?"

"No. I have to meet with all the others that week. I wouldn't want to anyway. Do I look like the kind of person that would be interested in such things?"

"Okay... Anyone here going...?"

"So what do you all think, eh?" Mukuro asked turning to the larger audience. "You think you've been clean this year? Or last year, eh?" Half the station was filled with a collective yes. "There you have it. Full house of our people. You can bet you'll see plenty of the others from around the country there, too. If that's any reason you're interested at all."

"Oh, it's a year? No wonder it's been so calm."

"If you say so." She turned around to answer the phone. Yusuke noticed Hiei groan and follow her into her office.

"So everything's A-Okay with you boys?" Botan asked Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Yeah... Sure... Only if you've been laying off the pixie sticks," Yusuke replied. At that moment Hiei walked out grumbling about starting to trace calls and Mukuro stumbled over to the cabinet to get coffee, insisting that it helps migraines.

Kurama decided to break the sudden silence. "What brought you to the Toguros...? I mean what made you think of them? You didn't even seem sure that you were feeling their energies from what it sounded like."

"Stalker. He felt too familiar."

"I could take a picture of the guy if you want," Hiei said, causing the others to jump at his sudden appearance.

"You should have him do it. Zamyatin's pictures are really good," Kirin said as he posted the note on the bulletin board. He stepped off to the side, indicating the others do the same to avoid being trampled on by the stampede of potential Dark Tournament attendees.

"Do I have to pay you because I have no money," Yusuke quickly said.

"Your money's no good. Just pay me back in favors," Hiei replied.

"What, are you the Godfather?"

"He looks at his paycheck and thinks, 'Wow this'll get me a lot of food!' He actually argued with Santiago, the one before me, because he didn't want to be paid," Mukuro replied, finally deciding to take a seat. "He's a hard core communist. He doesn't look or act like it, but he really is."

"Good man, I guess...? I think you need a..." Yusuke was interrupted.

"She won't take shit so don't bother. And you know what else? I think your capitalism's not welcome here," Hiei growled, being perfectly honest, or so it seemed.

"Your socialism isn't allowed here either, Zamyatin," Mukuro replied. "I fought wars to contain your ideas. I voted for Truman."

"I'm not a socialist."

"Soviet communism is a socialistic monster."

"When will they get it right?"

"You people play around too much, shit!" a woman growled.

"This is getting weird," Botan said.

"You said it," Kuwabara said.

**/And there was none.**

Notes:

1. Mukuro's accent sounds a bit Irish. The farther east you go in Canada, the more Irish the people sound. It's a lot like this in Newfoundland. No, seriously. Also, the Canadian "eh" can be used to incorporate everyone in to a conversation. I saw it on an article. (What? A fanficcer doing research? What is this nonsense? I've also researched Russian "mat" which is a vulgar variation of the Russian language, and supposedly it's banned in said country. Like emo. Look it up.) Did I also mention that Mukuro's a French Canadian? Cause she is. No one in this fanfic is what you think they are, apparently.  
2. Little did Yusuke know was that Hiei really was half German. ...But it is not why Mukuro loves him. Nor does she have any romantic interest in him.  
3. Yeah, I just made a _Twilight_ reference despite my dislike for it. (Expects angry reviews.)  
4. Sambo is a Russian martial art. The strategy is going for the joints. And that's a damn good one. Just about every country has some type of martial art, you know.  
5. ...Yukina works in Wal Mart. And no one knows... Yet.  
6. Soviet Communism isn't real communism. It's advanced socialism. And I know. Four years of IB, man. Four years!

Much love, JC.


	18. What Hits the Fan!

**Doubt  
**_Random Beginning Notes: I'm a PC but I got a Mac anyway. Looks like I ended up with a computer sooner than I thought. Not that it matters anyway. I get to go back to writing again. It's awesome. Now I can stop hanging around facebook so much. (Speaking of which I've been getting weird friend requests lately. It's really freaking me out.) So… Anyone else like the shameless chapter title? Nobody? Meh._

Chapter 18 "[What hits the fan]!"

Kuwabara came to school the next day looking like a deflated balloon. When Yusuke asked what the problem was as such behavior begs for such questions, he theatrically sighed and said, "Ugh… Today's the day before Valentine's Day. It always get me down…"

"Dude, that's why they call it Single's Appreciation Day!" Yusuke said.

As if he didn't hear Yusuke, he went on, "Except this year, I'm even more depressed than ever. I didn't buy Yukina a present. And I… I never even got to see her. This has to be the loneliest Valentine's Day ever! Why didn't they tell me where she worked or where she lived? Woe is… Ugh… Damn you, Hiei!" Some people walking by stopped and stared at him, then they decided it would be much better if they continued as though nothing happened. And possibly repress the memory of this ever happening.

"Would you even know what to do even if you were told where she worked? And we all know that even if Mukuro knew where she was, she wouldn't even tell you. Besides, you didn't even really ask her. She did imply it but…"

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" Kuwabara latched onto Yusuke, who shoved him off, nearly landing him into a trashcan.

"Get off! And Hiei was right there, and he'd _probably_ eat you alive if he knew you knew stuff like that."

"Why? What's his problem?"

"Oh, you know…" _Yeah, the creepy brother people warn each other about. ...Or is that just sit coms? No, wait. They are creepy in general. Or THIS ONE anyway.  
_

"Well, if he's that way about her, then that's really screwed up, going and leading on Mukuro like that. What a man whore. As soon as a hot girl walks in, he thinks it's time he goes and swoops them and…"

"Do they really look like they're in love to you?" _It's times like these I really wish he watched the rest of that damn video. It's more trouble that it's worth… But why is it even bothering me? What am I, Dr. Phil?_

-.-.-

"Okay, it looks like this building's close enough to the school that we can get some good shots for this guy," Hiei said more to himself as he turned on his camera, one whose brand was so unfamiliar to Kurama that he decided that it had to be one from Demon World.

Kurama saw where this was going. Time to play the boke. "You mean behind this building?"

"Stupid! On top of it! I'll just jump up there, and then wait for that stalker to show up, and then I'll get a picture of him. This job is making my mouth water. It's worthy of monjyayaki… I hope he gets here soon..."

"Hiei, that's really disgusting." Kurama turned a little green at the thought.

"Shit's good though."

"Have you looked at it before you ate it?"

"Have you ever had to eat chicken because if you didn't eat you would keel over on the battlefield despite knowing that the night before the cook screwed the chicken? I think not, you damn pampered pretty boy!"

"Don't… call me that."

"Well, if you're prettier and girlier than Mukuro, then you are."

"You really think so?" Evil aura, evil aura. "Because I will kill you if that's the truth.

"Eh… Not really. And I'm not saying that because you're threatening me. You'll probably just chip a nail or something."

"Why does it have to be Mukuro, Hiei? You have something repressed you're not willing to discuss?"

"It was the first name I thought of." Long silence. "Shut up!" He looked back at the building. "Okay, there's some stairs here since you can't jump that high in this body. Actually, I should do the same. I'd draw attention if I jump." He turned back to his partner. "What're you looking at me like that for? Go on!"

"Oh, you know… I could just stand here and keep watch of this guy, and when he comes over, I can give you the signal and then you'll know when to take a picture."

"I'd know when to take the picture. I'm not blind. And if he hears you give me a signal, then he'll know something's up and leave."

"Not if it's something you'd expect people to be yelling at this time like 'Fire!' Or maybe someone's name all angry. Or 'How long have you been cheating me, you cheap whore?'"

"Get your pretty boy ass up there."

"Is name-calling really necessary? And that building is really tall…"

"Are you really that scared of heights?"

"It wouldn't be incorrect not to say no…"

"Just go up there."

"How about we don't and then go our separate ways? The chief would understand if you went solo on this mission…"

Hiei took a dagger from his pocket and pointed it at him. "Do it, you maggot."

"Now, is that really the answer?" After he received no answer, Kurama turned back to the stairs and swallowed a lump in his throat. No use arguing at that point. So he took a step and wrapped his arms around the rail, as if holding on for dear life. He felt the blade pressing against the back of his neck. "Okay, okay! I'm going. Just don't point that thing at me.

They reached the top of the building after what felt like hours of tears and whining. ("Is this even legal?" "Shut up!") Hiei glanced at Kurama's watch (he never got one himself one, claiming that his always went haywire. No evidence has been seen supporting this claim.) and shrugged, deciding that being early was worth the tears it cost. He began to pace back and forth as he listened to Kurama finally calm down from the shock. Until five minutes later, Kurama then realized that he had to go back down the stairs, meaning that he would also have to look down on the way. Hiei refused to console him and put a finger to his temple as if it were his problem.

"Shut up for five seconds, will you?" Hiei finally growled. "You're such a pussy."

"Hey, you don't know how bad this is.. And… Are you… You're smiling a little…" Kurama was lightly disturbed at that point.

"This is why I tell people not to cry. I start laughing a little and then they get all mad. It's not my fault that I'm this way. I just… came out like this."

"That's some excuse you got there." There was a long silence.

Hiei reached into his pocket and pulled out a pistol. "You wanna play Russian roulette for two hours?"

"And kill myself? Really, Hiei, really?"

"You would normally point it at something else. That's how we usually play it."

"Who's we?"

He put the pistol away and pulled out a bag of Skittles. "I'm getting hungry. You want any?"

"You normally carry candy with you…. In your pockets."

"Take it or leave it."

Kurama held out a hand for him to toss it. After a few moments of silence, Kurama said, "You ever notice that lately it seems like more demons are pouring in lately. You can tell who is…"

"You sure, Minamino? You've never been to Eastern Europe if that's the case. Just about everyone looks completely human or at least must keep a human form except for a purpose that requires the change to your real appearance. Because fucking Hitler decided that was the true race, and then Stalin decided the same thing. Or it just happened that way supposedly… God, I want to hang myself right now." Hiei took a deep breath. _Why do I have this feeling now?_ "You got a… So there's a lot going on right now in the other side, I've been told. Exactly what I can't tell you. It's mostly classified. Mukuro's got some interest in it for some reason, too. Even talked me in to giving her friend some info… Wait... When did that happen...?"

"But no matter what was going on on the Otherside, there were never this many people flooding in."

"You wanna hear a theory at least- because even the Premier wants to know and no one's given him a legit answer? So you have these two parallel universes. This is the Human World or the Human's universe and then you have ours, which has yet to get a cute name other than Demon World. So the demons, us, can go into the other world and the humans can go into ours, though it's never intentional that we know of. And how does that happen? You and I both know damn well how to do that and what that takes. But that's only possible by having the connection drawn between the two worlds. Neither of us know how this happened. Humans and human sympathizers would blame us because we like to eat them. Demons would blame the humans because they like to try to summon us up, not knowing they really want devils, as I found out a while back. The food was an added bonus, for the rich. Though it's actually the best thing you've ever eaten."

"…Is it really?"

"Yeah. But that's not the point. So what we're thinking is that over time this connection between the two began to get stronger and stronger so that more and more people could just walk into the other world without using a special machine or waiting to be summoned. That's usually thought of as a hole. So this hole gets bigger and bigger and eventually it's easier to get through. It's starting to stabilize, too. It used to be that you jumped in this hole, wherever it is, and you wouldn't know where the hell you were going. All you know is that you're going to somewhere in the world. But now… Now I walk through a tunnel in the side of a building in Moscow knowing that I will walk out of the same wall of a building in the same damn town in the same damned area. We both know that this was not supposed to be. That we were supposed to be connected like this. We really should stop dicking around but… Look, you get the point."

"Is it possible that these humans leaders and ours would ever connect? From what you've seen?"

"On our side, everyone would obviously take their own country. It's only fair but then the war would be turning into colony wars and everyone'd want to take over the world because the war's gone to shit in our own. We'd just want to power and then we'd eat the humans… Among other things. You'd get the picture. Now humans I'd say would think we're all exotic and would wanna get into contact just to be all rebellious and shit. Then the government would come in and then use us for their wars, thinking they have the upper hand and they really don't. It all depends on who takes advantage of the whole thing first."

"You don't think it would be too gradual?"

"You've been human too long, Minamino. You forgot what we're all really like. Unless you decided you wanted to be an optimist. That's no way for someone like you to live."

"You could take a few lessons. You'd be much better."

"That's a good one." There was another long awkward silence. "What time is it?"

"Uh… twelve forty-five."

"An hour and fifteen minutes till the school's out." After forty minutes, Hiei glanced over the edge of the roof and saw a motorcycle pull up. "Okay. Looks like we have the guy. You… wait here. Keep yourself busy while I move out."

Kurama stared at the suddenly empty space. _So what made him think this was the perfect place to…?_

-.-.-

"Hello? Is this Mr. Akashi's class?" the woman on the loudspeaker said, tapping the microphone a few times which caused an earsplitting screech.

Akashi stuffed his fingers in his ears in an attempt to stop the ringing. After he grumbled bitterly about a growing headache, he replied to the woman with the greatest courtesy, "Yes, Doris?"

"Would you please ask Mister… Oh dear… I'm sorry, I… Mister… Yuh…"

"You mean Mr. Yusuke Urameshi, Doris?"

"One more time?"

"Another time."

"Oh… Well, could you please ask him to come to the front office? There is a visitor here waiting for him. He says that they had a previous engagement."

"Okay. I'll tell him." He turned back to the class and searched for Yusuke in the back of the room. "Well, go on then." He added half to himself, "No skin off my nose."

"Yeah, I can wait on that," Yusuke said quickly.

"That's unlike you."

"Well, I wanna do good this time. I'm tired of getting Fs and my mom and Keiko telling me to do better. So I think I'm gonna sit it out and take everything in and start getting Cs. You say that notes aren't the only thing to study off of and they make more sense with you standing there explaining everything. So no, I'm not going."

"Oh, I insist."

"Hey, he's not joking! The last time his mom saw his report card she was so mad that she… Well, he had some nasty bruises after that! Don't get skeptical! I saw it!" Kuwabara said. Yusuke kicked his desk.

"Look at these notes. Look at them. They're beautiful." Yusuke waved his notebook around. Akashi rolled his eyes and took the notebook from his hand and thumbed through it, not paying attention to what was written.

"I can't say that they're not good but they're not terrible either. I want to see you apply yourself this time. Keep this new act up and you might barely scrape a C minus." He turned back to the intercom. "Doris?"

"Yes, Mr. Akashi?"

"Could this visitor wait on Mr. Urameshi? He says he wants to complete his lesson before leaving."

"Oh… Well…" There was the sound of a light conversation in the background. "Oh… It looks like he says it's okay."

Yusuke buried his face in his arms, pretending that he was looking for something in his bag as he imagined a nice baked goose. _I was really hoping that Hiei would get a shot of this guy first. Go frickin' figure this guy's gotta pick now to make the first move._

After the bell rang, Yusuke peered out the window, almost craning his neck to do so to look for any sign of the motorcycle. It wasn't there. Figuring that the man had to have left, he walked out. _And even if he did park out somewhere else, his ass is probably still in the office. I can get out of here and then everything works out just as planned._

-.-.-

Kurama was about to work up the courage to look over the edge of the roof when Hiei returned. "Did you get a good shot of him?"

"Yeah. Didn't think it through though. It doesn't do the two of us any good if we have no idea what the hell he's supped to look like other than tall and with sunglasses. In fact, do _you _have a clue what the Toguros look like?" Hiei asked, handing him the camera.

"I've only heard stories about them. People must know what they look like the same way they know what you and I look like. The other me, I mean."

"…Once a child wrote this report that gave fantasy details of my childhood and then he look a newspaper clipping and pasted it on the paper because he wasn't good enough to draw it himself. People know what _I _look like."

"You're missing… Never mind. You know, this man looks a bit like Arnold Schwarzenegger."

"Who?"

"The governor. And the guy from _The Terminator_, if you're into that kind of movie."

"I'm not sure whether I should smack you for that or think you should go home and get some sleep. I think the first one sounds better." Hiei snatched the camera, grumbling.

"Well, this mission is for Yusuke's benefit." Kurama looked over the edge. "He's leaving the school and… Oh god, I just looked down!"

"You've fought all those guards and went through every trap in the book and you're afraid of heights! Seriously, what the hell!"

"I don't know. I just happened to get like this when I became human."

"You suck." He looked down. "The motorcycle's gone now."

"I was trying to tell you where he went before I…"

"Which way?"

"To the left." Hiei turned to the right and looked down. "Your other left."

As he grumbled under his breath, "I know my directions," he turned around and removed his bandana, revealing a third eye.

"So what you're hiding there is the Jagan Eye. Explains how you got the high rank so quickly…"

"No. They actually don't know I have it. Not yet. And I didn't do it to help me be a better soldier. I got all I got by hard work and that's the way it should be. Now shut up. I need to concentrate."

Kurama looked back at the street. "Oh look, urg…"

"Would you cut it out!" Hiei kicked him. "Yusuke's coming out right now. He could help decode this crap. I just saw the guy driving around the block. I'm going down there before- shit, he's there right now. I'm getting down there right now and then I'm gonna get paid. I'll catch up to you later."

"Wait don-" He already left. "…leave me here. Oh god…"

-.-.-

"Looks like the coast is clear and I'm getting out of this one…" Yusuke mumbled. Just as he started to pass the gates, a motorcycle pulled up in front of him. The driver stared at him, assuming that the man was thinking that somehow Yusuke was in _his_ way, he mumbled and apology and went the other way.

"Don't act like you don't remember me," the driver said as he removed his helmet. "Go on. Turn around. There you go. You probably don't remember me because you also forgot people have to change clothes daily too."

Yusuke stared at him, then mentally placing sunglasses over the man's eyes, he realized who it was and groaned.

Toguro tossed him the helmet. "Hop on."

"Hell no. Didn't know you joined the Pedo Bear squad, but I don't swing that way," Yusuke snarled.

"Well, then meet me at the building sight for the mall at six o' clock tonight. Don't bring anyone with you. And if you don't come, I _will_ find you."

"Yeah, six. Got it…" Toguro smirked, put his helmet back on and drove away. Yusuke sighed and turned around to see Hiei standing there. "What the…? When'd you get here?"

"Long enough. I don't come early enough though," Hiei replied.

"…That's what she said." Yusuke saw that one coming.

"Who's she?"

"Never mind."

"In any case this mission was pointless since you just walked right up to the guy intentionally or not. Not even Kurama confirmed anything."

"Kurama's...? Where is he?"

"I dunno. Somewhere up there crying probably. What he just told you sounded like a threat. In fact, I'm not sure you should even come alone. The two of us can be in the background. I can hide my energy and then…"

"Quit trying to get more favors out of me, shit."

"I'm not greedy. I'd get a nasty punishment if I failed to protect you when I obviously could have. Whatever Mukuro would hand over to me would pale in comparison to the rest of the fools up top would do. And that's nothing in comparison the Spirit World's response."

"Really? I can take care of myself."

"Spirit World has a form of racism against demons, if you didn't notice so they look for any reason to kill us. I screw up with you and then they'll take out Kurama because he's my partner and then they'll off Mukuro for being unable to control us. And _then_…"

"I get the picture. He won't kill me. If that's what he wanted he would have done it right here and ran off."

"Does coming alone sound unsuspicious to you or are you saying I've got paranoia?"

"Maybe you do. I get why you're freaking about me being put in danger. I'd want to keep me out of it if I were you too but… I can figure it out on my own."

They stared at each other. Hiei broke the stare and sighed irritably, grumbling something in his native tongue. He finally looked back at Yusuke and said in a tone of finality, "If you die, I'm killing myself and haunting you in the afterlife."

"Yeah, you and your little ghost babies with Mukuro." Yusuke ran home, with Hiei growling at him in his native tongue again.

-.-.-

Hiei returned to the station where Mukuro took him into her office for him to retell the whole situation. (Though Hiei "mercifully" left out Yusuke's final words, thinking that she would get too much of a laugh out of it, regardless of the fact that that detail was irrelevant anyway.) After he finished his explanation, Mukuro rubbed a temple and sighed.

"So you just let him go. Just like that," Mukuro said.

"I tried to tell him not to go, but he wouldn't listen," Hiei quickly replied as if that comment would save him.

"But you know that…"

"Yes, I do! But I doubt _stalking_ him would make any difference. The guy obviously was not wanting to cooperate so I just decided to let him go his way and I go mine. But I did get the time at which he would meet him…"

Her eyes widened with surprise and she walked to the door, put her hand on the door handle. She shook her head and paced behind Hiei in thought.

Hiei turned around in the chair so that his knees were what supported him. "Don't stand behind me. That feels too strange."

"Say that around the right person and they'll add to your discomfort," she replied as she turned around and sat on her desk. "I think there's more to it than you think. I don't think he'll kill him right now. I'm not gonna have you go after him."

"And what if he does kill Yusuke? What then?"

"I gave you the order. My error in judgment will kill me instead of you. You have everyone to back the case. I'm seventy-seven percent sure on this one. Though… Do you happen to have the picture on you?" Hiei handed her the camera. "god, and I think I've seen this man before but where?"

"Does it have to do with the fact that he looks like the governor?"

"What? No. I just… Forget it. There's another flaw in your story, Hiei. Where in the hell did your partner go?"

"I dunno. Last time I saw him he was on the roof of the building. He never came down."

"Wait, and you didn't go back and get him or wait for him to come down! What's wrong with you? Or were thinking, 'Oh, I better hurry back to work because someone might be touching my desk. I can't have that.'"

"I love that desk. That's not funny." Hiei crossed his arms and frowned.

"I suppose that's also cruel irony because that's really not your desk. You just happened to take that desk over when I got promoted."

"…Uh…? It wouldn't be the same to look over and not see you there…?"

Mukuro gave him a look that clearly stated, "Bullshit!" "Flattering. But you would go under cardiac arrest if someone moved 'your' desk so it faces forty-five degrees from where it originally was."

"That'd be catastrophic."

"Case in point. All be-" Kurama stumbled into the room at that moment and threw himself into the chair next to Hiei. "There's Minamino. Wait- why're you're eyes red? Were you crying? What did you do to him, Zamyatin?"

"What? Why blame me? Is it because I'm communist because I did nothing you…"

"I live with you. I obviously have no prejudices against you. Why do you always play that card?" Mukuro held up a hand to hush him. "So what happened?"

And Kurama disrupted the seriousness of the situation. "He… He made me go down a four story building… Down stairs. I've seen hell."

She would have shook her head at that but considering that Kurama has had a good intellectual streak in her book… "That all? I actually happen to like high places. Your partner already filled me in on the situation and apparently he has to do the same for you. You have half an hour until your shift ends and you could use that time to… Find out what you missed and recover from your trauma." As Hiei shrugged and led Kurama out, Mukuro whispered to him, "Just don't get involved. I'm confident it's not what _you're_ thinking it is."

-.-.-

Yusuke walked to the mall, constantly looking over his shoulder to be sure he wasn't being watched as he did so. When he arrived, he pulled an old watch from his pocket but threw it on the ground when he saw that it had stopped working at four-fifty. He shrugged, thinking that there was nothing to lose just by walking up early, but also wishing that there would be a construction worker there to tell him to get lost. But there was no one. No one except for him and the younger Toguro who just pulled up on his motorcycle.

"Look who's early," Toguro said, a half smlie crossing his face.

"You had be by surprise last time, Toguro but this time you're not fooling me," Yusuke snarled. "So cut the crap. What the hell do you want? And while you're telling me that, tell me just why the hell a dead guy like you is walking around."

"You really thought a cheap move like that could finish me off? And even if it did, you would still have had to deal with my brother, and you'd be in even deeper water. He has no mercy like I do."

"Yeah. Guy who tortured some girl for who knows how long. And the guy turned himself into a damn pipe cleaner balloon animal. I'm supposed to notice something like that."

"Come in." Toguro grabbed Yusuke by the arm and pulled him into the empty building.

As soon as Toguro let him go, Yusuke took three steps back. "Sorry. I didn't bring my bowl of jell-o. We can't play haunted house today."

"We're not playing games here. Just the opposite. You know that day I only used thirty percent of my strength? That's right. Only a third and that was enough to take you down. Now if I went to sixty, I would knock down this pillar without breaking a sweat." Toguro placed his hand on it. "This pillar going down would cause a good chunk of the glass planed windows on the ceiling to go down. Would you like to see that, Yusuke? Would you want to see a shower of glass?"

"You don't scare me." Yusuke stood even taller, trying to conceal his shaking arms.

"Oh, you're scared. But if I were to do that, I could send you to the emergency room and maybe even kill you. But I don't want that, now, do I?" He took his hand away.

"What do you want then? Presenting your love for me?"

"Don't be stupid. March sixteenth is the first day if the Dark Tournament. You're supposed to report to this hotel," he gave Yusuke a business card, "about a month from now. Bring the other two who were with you at Tarukane's mansion plus two other members with you on the fifteenth."

"And if I don't?"

"They'll find you. Not me." He walked Yusuke out and he jumped onto his motorcycle. "And another thing. Make sure you get trained because I won't stay at thirty percent for you, and I definitely don't want everything to end within one blow."" He started it up. "Don't disappoint me by not coming."

After Toguro left, Yusuke became aware of the faint sound of sirens in the distance, and the streetlights kicking on. After a moment's thought, he decided that he knew where he had to go…

-.-.-

Kurama glanced at the clock when he heard the first knock at the door. It was about eight-thirty. He had just stepped out of the shower and had gotten dressed. He immediately went to the door at the third knock.

"Yusuke? You're out late," Kurama said with surprise. He offered to let him in, but Yusuke turned him down.

"You know where Hiei's place is?" Yusuke asked.

"A floor above me. Why?"

"I need to tell you guys something. It'd be best to tell all of you at the same time though. I couldn't find stupid Kuwabara."

"It's that important, huh?" They both went up to the next floor, but then, paused when they were there. They exchanged blank stares.

"Kurama… Do you know which room he lives in?"

"Uh… Nope. Just the floor. But there's six rooms on this floor. Let's see… That's… Twenty percent chance each I think…? I think… You carry the…"

"I think it's the one with all the scratches on the door." Yusuke walked up to it to knock on the door. Kurama stopped him.

"I dunno… But what makes you think it's this one?"

"It suits him, doesn't it?"

"I guess? But what if it isn't him?"

"We got more probability!"

A soft voice asked, "What are you two doing?" They both turned around to Mukuro at the top of the staircase, a small stack of papers in her hand. "You aren't playing doorbell tag are you? I thought you two were above that. Especially you, Kurama. You're more than twenty years old. You should have it out of your system."

Yusuke practically pounced on her. "You know where Hiei lives, don't you?" He added as an aside, "That must suck, living in the same area as your boss…"

She looked at him like he was crazy and unlocked the third door from the stairs. "Well, go on then. He isn't home yet so…"

"Man… You guys even have each other's keys. You sure you guys don't have a little something-something going on here?"

"Technically, yes, we do have the same keys, but that's only because we live in the same apartment. BUt don't get the wrong idea- it's been like this for a while only because he doesn't want to find his own place. Plus, I think he supposedly likes my cooking too much to leave," Mukuro explained as they walked in. "It can't wait until tomorrow? Knowing him, he'd probably show up at two in the morning drunk off his ass."

"You sure he's not just coming back?"

"He's gone for a long time. He leaves right after work and comes back in the middle of the night most times. It's not that hard on him. He doesn't usually sleep. You know, if he's not hung over." She shrugged. "I can tell him whatever you need to tell him when he's home and if he'll listen."

"Goddammit. You deal with that shit? This is pissing me off in all ways." Yusuke was about to kick a table, but then he remembered he wasn't in his home or a friend's house. "And this goddamn chair has goddamn bite marks in it!"

"Yusuke, I can deal with people like this. It's no problem. All I can do is kick him in the ass. And that chair is not my fault. Just tell me what he needs to know and I will tell him. Or Kurama. We both work with him. You should go home. Your mother's probably worried."

"My mom's out on Fridays so she kind of doesn't give a damn what I'm doing. And you guys all have to be here to hear it at the same time. I don't repeat myself."

"But Yusuke, you're forgetting Kuwabara…" Kurama said, also eyeing the bite marks on the chair.

"I'm getting all of you and then we'll drag his dumb ass over here and then you'll all know! Shit!" Yusuke growled.

"You're making it harder than it needs to be. We'll wait till tomorrow. You couldn't find him today, he might be out with his family for the weekend." Kurama glanced at Mukuro, made eye contact with her as if making an unsaid agreement and looked back at Yusuke. "Well, we'll all wait til tomorrow, get Kuwbara first thing in the morning, and meet in Mukuro's office. You have Hiei and I there already. You can stay the night with me. I don't mind. You look like you could eat something."

Yusuke reluctantly agreed, and the two walked out. Yusuke stopped in the doorway, and as he looked over his shoulder, he said, "Hey Mukuro. Quit looking all depressed back there. We can still see you."

She gave him a curious look. "Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Nah, but it's less selfish than my next question."

"Shoot."

"You got that meeting next month, don't you?"

She immediately understood. "Yes. Yes, I do. You have someone else in mind, right?"

"I'll try."

-:-:-

Hiei shelved the book he held in his hand as if annoyed that his peaceful rearranging of the books was being disrupted by the others' presence. He finally asked to break the silence. "We're all here and have been for a while now. Are you going to tell us what the hell it is you need to tell us or are you gonna sit there looking stupid?"

Yusuke glared at him and then gathered his thoughts. "So Hiei and… I guess Kurama, maybe Mukuro, both know that I went and met Toguro yesterday. Yeah, Kuwbara, _that_ Toguro. In a nutshell, he didn't really die and he was just pulling our leg. He didn't want to kill me at that moment but he will at the Dark Tournament. Me, Kuwabara, and you too, Hiei- don't give me that look. If you didn't burst in like you did you wouldn't be dragged in- are required to go. Kurama's coming with us. Just need a fifth man,"

"Hold it. We can't go," Kuwabara said. "We're human. Or you and I are human. They can't invite us over."

"That's what I was thinking but…" Yusuke shrugged.

"Humans can get invited if a team has ordered it to happen. It has only happened in a case where they see a human getting too close into demon affairs. That's what I've been told," Mukuro said. "That's how Genkai was thrown in."

"Okay… Then turn them down," Kuwabara replied, turning to Yusuke.

"I don't wanna get killed," Yusuke said. "Look. I'll take care of everything. We just need to train and then we'll be good, right?"

"Well, you know a lot of what to expect so you can fill us in there," Kuwabara said to Mukuro, begging for some reassurance.

"I have the meeting that week. I can't make it. Though the president was a smart ass enough to have it on the same island. If anything, I'd just sit in the stands and cheer you on. But that's a little risky," she replied, shrugging. "I wouldn't want to come if I was asked anyway."

"Like I said, I'll try and get as much taken care of as possible. I'll get the fifth man taken care of. So on the fifteenth, we're showing up at this hotel." He placed the card on the table. "Just copy it down. I'm gonna need it for the committee's email. Oh yeah…" He pulled out a folded over paper from his pocket. "Make sure I got your names spelled right."

"My name isn't Hea," Hiei said simply.

"Okay, how do you spell it?"

"Like it sounds."

"I spelled it how it sounds right there."

"That's what's wrong with you Americans. You can't spell a damn thing right. And then you place a thousand rules that can easily be contradicted."

"I didn't ask for a language lesson. Spell your damn name."

"H. I. E. I. You got the last name right though."

"That's not how it sounds. That looks weird."

"It's not my real name anyway."

"What's your real name if you're so smart?"

"It's Vladien Lvov," Mukuro cut in jokingly. "Apparently we're all calling him by his middle name. I've been calling him that because that's what he introduced himself as."

"Legally yes. But I have another. And Vladimir is too common a name anyway," Hiei growled. "Aren't you something like Mary Strauss or something?"

"Not even close. Do I really look like a Mary though?"

"What the…? These aren't your real names? This is a real mind fuck," Yusuke said, tucking the paper away.

"You don't need to know," Hiei replied brusquely. "You said you need to train. We can arrange it after we both get out of work."

"I got Genkai. I know she'd take me in hands down when I tell her what happened. And that way, I can get some info on what it's like seeing how she turns out to have done it."

"Kuwabara, you're willing to do it?" Kurama asked. Kuwabara nodded.

"So if anything happens, we meet up here. Let's get each other's numbers. I don't have a computer or anything to use so…"

There was an awkward silence following that statement. Mukuro said, "You guys better come back champions. I don't want Hiei's ghost haunting me because someone took over his desk." Hiei threw a book at her and missed by a few inches.

-:-:-

"Hello there. My, you're a big fellow," the man with the black hair said to the man also occupying the elevator. The other man was so larger that he had to bend over a bit to stand in the room. "You here to see Mr. Toguro as well? Yes, the git went and called me up in the middle of the night saying that he needed a hand in the tournament. After fifty years, the man is at it again. Say, did you hear what we're up against? A human, of all things! This is supposed to be the one who took out the Saint Beasts single handedly. Can you believe that? Not much of a talker, are you? I suppose he called you up in the middle of the night as well. Prat. Though I wish I could say that to his face. But I'd probably be in a world of hurt. Eh, wouldn't be so bad. Bit shy, aren't you?"

Then the elevator came to the floor they dreaded….

**/And there was none.**

_End of Season 1..._

Notes:

1. Fact: Singles Appreciation Day is pure bull shit and everyone who calls it that is only doing so to hide their depression for being alone. I'm frickin single and I use Valentine's Day as an excuse to each chocolate. Screw you guys.  
2. A boke is one of the members of a Japanese comedy pair. Don't ask me what role this is though. Also, did I already mention monjyayaki? Well, if I didn't Hiei likes it a lot and it's canon. Credit for this knowledge goes to Jaganshi Kenshin.  
3. Hiei looks like a secret sweet tooth.  
4. I thought Toguro looks like my governor. No one really believes me.  
5. Vladien is another form of the name Vladimir. This is legally his name in the USSR but he considers the name his mother gave him to be his true name. Heinrich Reinhard. (As much as he hated the guy.) Demons that work here have to put their name into a file (you've noticed with Yukina) and often times, they change their own names. Mukuro's name is really weird. It just is. Those two are total hams.

There's a reason I don't write Hiei's accent. It would be ugly. (And he's not a drunk, so everyone thinks, because he's Russian. It just happened that way without my knowing it's a stereotype. I actually have a reason for it…) Anyway, thanks for reading up to this point. Reviews are always appreciated.

Much love, JC.

(edit: The real names of the characters are as follows:  
Mukuro: Maria Delacroix  
Hiei: Vladien Heinrichovich Lvov/ Heinrich Reinhard, Jr.  
Kirin: Ismael Ramos  
...This is all I have planned so far. I need to figure out Yomi's actually...)


	19. Up and at 'Em

**Doubt  
**_Random beginning notes: Goddammit. Just when I thought that I would have more time to work on this one, I start a bunch more stories. Meh. Scenes from a Hat's almost done and I have a couple chapters left to post for Hands of the Axis (There's not much else left. Just a couple of chapters.)  
(And AM stands for ante meridiem and PM stands for post meridiem. Meridiem being noon. Yo tengo bing.)_

Chapter 19: Up and at 'Em

"So it looks like the California budget crisis has effected us all and we need to take a pay cut here," Mukuro announced to everyone as she got coffee. She turned around and noticed half the people in the room gave her a look like she was crazy. She cocked a brow and went on, "What? Quit looking at me. I didn't decide that. They did. Schwarzenegger doesn't even know we exist anyway. The president decides all this… Somehow. But you all have to understand we must take one for the team and give up our money to a group that we have no affiliation with whatsoever for the good of the state that doesn't have any connection to our operations whatsoever."

"Who was that again?" Hiei asked. "And I mean the president, not all the bullshi-"

"Hiei, you don't even want to be paid in money, what do you care?"

"I like to know whose shoes I'm supposed to be licking."

She honestly hoped he didn't have the same philosophy about serving Stalin. "It's Youda… I don't know his last name."

"Isn't that that guy who thinks he's better than everyone just because he's… He thinks he's better than everyone? And wasn't that the guy you cussed out that one time?"

She gave him a blank look. "Uh… He's probably that guy, but I've never cussed a person out in my life."

"Everyone does it. You know you've done it. Or maybe just not in English." Hint, hint.

"Hiei, I'm not like you and drop an F bomb every three words just because I can." Awkward silence. She turned around and went back to her business. Then the front door opened and in walked Shura, clipboard in hand. Everyone waited for Yomi to walk in but there was no one. "…Where's your father?"

"Who cares about my stupid dad? What's with all these canceled appointments for next week? There's something going on that you're not telling me. You guys need this treatment," Shura growled. He pointed at Mukuro. She gave him a blank look and shrugged. She knew damn well what was going on.

"Big guy!" Shura pointed at Kirin. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Kid, you know my name. You should use it," Kirin replied.

"Russian guy!" He pointed at Hiei.

"…I'm not Russian, I'm…" Hiei was cut off.

"Who cares? Tell me what's going on."

"Hell if I know." Actually, he didn't want to explain shit.

"…This is going to go on endlessly," Mukuro said with a sigh. "I'm surprised you didn't hear about this, but the Dark Tournament's going on next week and most of us are going there. Of course, I suppose studying until you vomit blood might keep you from finding this stuff out. By the way, shouldn't you be in school right now?"

"Tournament? Fine. It's your funeral and tell me that you guys don't have to pay after this Tournament's over." Shura flung the clipboard at her and walked out, grumbling to himself in Japanese.

"Well, that's theatrical." She sighed and went about her business, still awaiting another interruption.

"_You know the Toguro Brothers came out of hiding? They're coming to the Tournament. That's like a once in a lifetime opportunity right there. Finally getting all human washed is worth it."_

"_And there's this human team. That kid that keeps coming in is supposed to be on that team. Yusuke Urameshi, I think it is. I got it pulled up…"_

Kirin sighed as he walked to Mukuro. "So I'm guessing we'll have an earful out of Yomi later. What do you want me to tell him while you're out?"

"If you could convince him we all got taken away by the Rapture and that you and him are one of the people left behind, I would be forever in your debt," she said with a half smile. "His dumb self should be aware of the Tournament anyway. Everybody knows about it at this point. Well, the three of us should be well aware of it. It has the other world involved."

"Well, I'm glad that you're not involved."

Mukuro gave him a hard look. "Kirin, really? You don't need to worry about me. I'm not that weak. That whole thing would be a cake walk even right now. I really swear you must have some ulterior motive."

"You always say that. There's nothing I want from you. It's just that I'm your assistant and I'm worried about your well-being. If you die, then what'll I do?"

"Live." She said it like it was the dummy answer to a crossword puzzle question.

"After all this time? Really, Mukuro?"

"Kirin, you're really over-thinking this and taking this whole situation too far. Unless it involves silver, then I'm not going to die so easily. But if you're digging so I can give you the straight answer, just tell him that people were going to the Tournament and that he should buy himself a computer to tell him these things…" She paused and smacked herself on the forehead when she realized the number of complications from that. "And if he begs to have a word with me, tell him he can just call me on my cell, though he should be aware that I'm at the meeting as well. I really feel like I'm undermining your intelligence by outlining this out for you."

"Not really… Though he should be aware of all this. I really hope he just didn't tell his son about the…" He paused when he noticed Hiei was standing there, staring at them. "You know it's rude to stare, Zamyatin?"

Hiei was about to answer him when Yusuke practically kicked down the door and ran to Kurama, twisting around to find Hiei. A few moments after, Kuwabara discreetly walked in and closed the door like it was about to shatter on him. Hiei sighed and walked to the other three.

"Hey, you guys, I just found this out. Remember how that paper said that we were supposed to show up at the hotel at ten?" Yusuke asked. Only Kurama and Kuwabara nodded, only because they felt that there was some obligation for them to do so. "You know that they meant ten PM? At night! So this means we're fighting in the middle of the night!"

"Wait, what's PM stand for and what's the difference between day ten, night ten, and twenty two hours?" Hiei asked.

"I just said it's at night, genius."

"Why can't it be twenty-two hours like it is in the rest of the world?"

"It's ten in America, there. Shut up." Actually, that didn't make much more sense to Hiei either, but he decided he wasn't going to bother anymore. "But why would they have this at night?"

"Well, I guess it's so humans won't find out about it. Most people don't go out at those hours really…" Kurama said with a shrug. "I don't really know, either."

"How're we getting there?"

"I'll drive. Or Hiei."

"He can see the road?" ("I'm standing right here…" Hiei grumbled.)

"Yes. It takes us a couple of hours to get to San Francisco from here, right? I google mapped it and it looks like it's just off the coast of San Francisco. We should just leave by six just so we can be early. It's better to be more early."

The door opened again and in walked Yukina, who rushed straight for the bulletin board. She scanned the board and found just what she was looking for. She turned around. "**Vova, could I borrow some paper? And a pen…?**"

He reached into his pocket and took out a notepad. "**You can read that okay? I can translate it for you if you want.**"

"**I have trouble reading at first. I wasn't really taught to read English but… If it's not too much trouble…**"

He shrugged and went to do so. He was vaguely aware of Kuwabara glaring knives into him, but it was mostly likely due to Yukina's beaming at him. He was also uncomfortably aware that the conversation had stopped just for them. For some reason, it just didn't sit right with him. He sighed as he handed the piece of paper to her. "**You won't lose it, will you?" **She shook her head. "**Are you really interested in this or are you getting this for someone?**"

Apparently she refused to answer that question. "**Who taught you English?**"

Hiei pointed to Mukuro.

"Mrs. Zamaytin?"

"I'm not his wife," Mukuro said flatly. Kirin cringed a little at the thought. Mukuro turned to him and gave him a look that clearly said, _Case in point. _(And Kirin replied with a look, _We'll flesh this issue out later._)

"**Oh… I kind of need help with my English. It's really bad. Could you…?**" Yukina paused.

"**I'm here most days… Unless I have another mission which would mean that you won't see me at all...**" He paused when he realized none of what he just said made any sense. "**I don't know how I can teach you. Mukuro just handed me a bunch of flashcards and made me walk out to figure it out…**" It's also to be noted that most of his English he learned from watching Hannah Barbera cartoons. "**And it's just because it was more convenient that way. Your English isn't that bad really. But if you **_**must**_** have help…**" He sighed and looked over his shoulder at Kuwabara. "Ask him. He volunteered for the job."

"Oh. Okay. **Thank you, Vova.**" She kissed him on the cheek. As soon as her back was turned, he swiped his cheek off.

"Wait." She turned around. "**Really. What are you doing getting this information for? You're not really thinking of going to the tournament, are you? It's not something you'd enjoy?**"

"**I'm looking for my brother. I'm thinking that if I go to something like this, I might find him… Because… They said that my brother had a lot of energy on him or something like that. Firey energy. I think he would want to be involved in something like this."**

"**Who's they?"**

"…**I have to go to work."**

"**Wait. One more thing… What would you do when you do find him?"**

"**Well, I have something for him and then… I guess we'll just catch up on what we missed."** She looked at the clock. "**I really should be going. I'll be late if I stay any longer.**"

"**You do that.**"

"Why are you so nice to Yukina but when you're with us you're a jerk?" Kuwabara asked.

"I just made an appointment between you guys, what more could you ask for?" Hiei asked.

"So… On a less awkward note… Can we just meet here and then take off?" Kurama asked. There was more silence. "I'm taking that as a yes. Just don't kill each other before we get there."

-.-.-

Keiko burst into Mukuro's office the day before the Dark Tournament's beginning with Botan, who was pleading with her to stop, and Shizuru following her, the most calm out of the three. Mukuro stared at her, and then looked down at Keiko's fists when she slammed them on the desk.

"So I'm guessing this is about Yusuke?" Mukuro asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Yusuke hasn't been home in a while. I talked to his mom, but she says she hasn't seen him in a while. It's like every time school's over he runs out and goes off somewhere. I would ask Kuwabara, but he's doing the same thing. And I asked Shizuru, and she said something like what Yusuke's mom was saying. When I asked Botan, she said something about a Dark Tournament and something about him training with Genkai," Keiko said.

"Well, I can tell you that at the moment, they aren't doing anything dangerous. Genkai is training Yusuke. I'm not sure if you know who she is. It doesn't sound like you do, do you? Somewhat, okay. As for your brother, Shizuru, he's doing something similar but with two people that work here. You'll know one of them, I'm sure. Now as for what they're training for… Botan should be telling you that."

"Well, she says that she can't tell me. So I thought you might know."

"I thought it was required that assistants inform both their superior and anyone that might get involved in a conflict. I don't mean that you're intentionally handing out classified information, just information that would help the other party survive… possibly."

"Well, yeah, but I wasn't supposed to tell her at all!" Botan replied, her face turning an absurd shade of magenta.

"Well, if it's classified, then you should have known to keep your mouth shut or lied if withholding information is really in their best interest. I'm really not going to speak for you if you screwed up that bad. If I can withhold information at gunpoint, then you can do it under pressure," Mukuro replied. "I suppose I'm going to be held accountable now…" She sighed and walked out of the room, tore the paper from the bulletin board, and walked back into the office. "Since you two aren't regulars around here, you would have no way to even draw the connection right away. You can keep this paper. Everyone knows what's on it by now, possibly word for word at this point. I'm assuming that you're also intending to go to this thing now that you know Yusuke and Kuwabara's involved. If you do, I want you two to be careful. Yusuke would slaughter half the people here if he found out you died in the crowd out there. I would keep an eye on you, but there's a meeting that I can't miss without a good excuse- if I died, or something like that."

"Y-you're going to tell them everything, aren't you?" Botan was on the verge of tears.

"If it's really that bad, then Koenma can call me out and take it up with me. What's done is done for both of us anyway."

"What is the Dark Tournament?" Keiko asked once she thought that this whole thing was cleared up.

Botan glanced at Mukuro and sighed. Mukuro took up the job anyway. "Apparently humans find this kind of disturbing, maybe I'm just not feeling enough to how it could be so but… This is some Tournament in which teams would compete against each other in fights, usually until the death and they can use anything they can to make sure that the other is defeated slash killed. It's supposed to be a good way for demons to vent out any frustrations with being a law-abiding citizen and not attacking humans. That's what Spirit World says." She went on before Botan could object. "Recently, or so they say, I'm suspecting it's always been this way, the black market in this world has been involved by placing bets on the teams involved. Sometimes humans get involved because they get too deep in demon's business, which is the case for Yusuke Urameshi and Kazuma Kuwabara. Should they win, the committee grants them some wish… as long as the committee can fulfill it. Power, to a certain extent, money, et cetera, et cetera."

"Yusuke can't back out can he? I have trouble believing he just agreed to something like this."

"The way I was told this, he would be killed if he turned the invitation down."

"Oh god…" Keiko looked down at the paper. "I don't care. I'm still going, even if it kills me."

"…Please don't. Get killed, I mean." There was a long awkward silence. Then Keiko and Shizuru (after a moment's thought of _Oh, what the hell._) shared a laugh, which Botan awkwardly joined in to ease the tension. "…I mean it."

-:-:-

The five gathered in front of the station. Kurama looked at the others, taking a silent roll call. He nodded to himself and he gestured for everyone to get into the car.

"Hey, Yusuke, I gotta question…" Kuwabara whispered as he slid next to him, sandwiched between Yusuke and a smaller person with their face covered with a mask. "Who is this person?"

"Genkai picked this person out. I dunno and I don't give a crap cause right now I'm ti-" He paused and yawned. "-red. Wake me up when we get there."

**And that's all...?**

**Notes:  
1. For people who don't watch the History Channel, the rapture is part of the end of the world in which the righteous are taken away to heaven while the wicked are left behind. Or something like that. Also, it's for eternity, so you're kind of screwed. Kind of like the _Left Behind series_. Like you're stuck reading that for eternity...  
2. Vova is a diminutive of the name Vladimir. Which is basically Hiei's name.**


	20. Score One for

**Doubt**

_Random beginning notes: Man, I forgot how great Yu Yu music was… Listening to the symphony version on youtube. I feel like I've been gone so long. But… I really miss the wonder I used to have watching this show. Wondering where it was gonna go and all that. I dunno why I do, but I do._

_Kuwabara's singing Toy Box's "Russian Lullaby."_

Chapter 20 Score One for…

Kurama glanced at his watch when they pulled into the parking lot. "Looks like this is the place. And fifteen minutes early. Not that it really matters…" They all got out of the car, except Yusuke, who had been leaning against Hiei (who was one step away from smacking him upside the head the whole time) and fell over once he stepped out. "I guess this guy is out when…" Hiei started licking Yusuke's cheek. "Hiei, what in the _hell_ are you doing?"

"…It wakes me up if all else fails…" He paused. "Ugh, but he tastes like a drunk man's piss... It's going to be a long night."

"How do…. Do I even want to know?" Kuwabara asked.

"…You know how you smell something strong and you can taste it even if you don't want to? Once, I was walking back to the-"

"Well, it looks like there's no waking him up, is there?" Kurama broke in, mostly because he didn't want to hear anything more about the interesting connections between smell and taste. And by now, he was also fairly certain Hiei's army stories never ventured anywhere out of the world of masturbation, orgies, or debauchery. "So it looks like if we tried anything else it would be all in vain. Let's just take him to the room and then we'll figure out a plan if he's still out during the fight tomorrow." They both stared at him. "Well, don't you guys check your email? A couple days ago, Yusuke sent this email saying that we have orientation today. Since we weren't here on will we don't have to be there. Or something like that."

There was an awkward silence. Kurama shrugged and they followed him in, with Kuwabara slinging Yusuke's arm over his shoulder to carry him. Kuwabara glanced at the small masked person. "Hey, Hiei." Hiei turned around and gave him a look stating that he really didn't want to be asked questions. Well, he was going to have to deal with it. "So this person here… Isn't Genkai your girlfriend's friend or something?"

"Dammit, she's not my…" Hiei growled.

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, and no, I don't know if the other person is her. And frankly, I don't care at all. It's not keeping me from sleeping at night." He stopped and thought about it, then shrugged and went with it.

They walked into the lobby of the hotel. Seeing as they had to wait on Kurama to check them in, Kuwabara decided to get familiar with the place. As he did a three-sixty, his jaw dropped and he felt horribly out of place. The people in the room where the exact images that came to mind when he heard the word "old money." (Minus the nineteenth century backgrounds) and Hollywood stars put together (also without the drug addictions and other things left to the tabloids). Then an older couple glanced at him. The woman smirked and whispered into the man's ear. The man then raised his empty champagne glass to him. Kuwabara quickly turned around, knowing what just happened. He quickly forgot about it by looking at the scenery alone.

"God_damn_ this place is so… so upscale!" Kuwabara nearly swooned. "I mean, I've never even been inside a Hilton hotel either. I've only been in stuff like Motel 6's. The most upscale place I've ever been in was the Luxor at Vegas. Dude, Hiei. You see this? This is what living is, man? You ever see stuff like this in Russia?"

Hiei rolled his eyes. "And you almost pissed yourself when you saw we were just the basis of bait five seconds ago. This place makes me sick."

_I'll take that as a no. _"You kidding me? This is awesome. I would… I would lick their eyeballs! I know you're from where you're from, but don't act like you don't wanna dream about this kind of stuff. You know you want one of those!" He pointed.

"The elevator or the black man walking in it right now?"

"Dude. Racist."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean anyway? Just because we're communist doesn't mean…" Well, actually he didn't know what it meant. In fact, he wasn't even sure where he was going with this, but hell if he was gonna let Kuwabara have the last word. "You're just disgusting." That was weak. Oh well, it works.

Kurama glanced at them and exchanged looks with the masked person. "Uh… When you guys are done dealing with that debate, I've got the room keys."

Kuwabara cheered- somewhat. "You know, if Hiei's not too communist to come in the room that is." And so began a new running gag. They all walked to the room and sat at the couch. About ten minutes after they sat there, a woman with a cart walked in and placed five cups of coffee on the table. She paused to look at them, gave Kurama a smile, and walked out.

As he tried to erase that moment from his mind, Kurama said, "I think we should stay up tonight so we can get used to this schedule."

"Is it really that hard?" Hiei asked. They both gave him blank looks. "What, it's not my fault I can't sleep."

"Man, you're just full of strange things right now, aren't you?" Kuwabara asked. "You should take melatonin or have some warm milk. Warm milk knocks me out like nothing."

"I hate medicine. And milk is disgusting. After you're done with it as a child, you should be done for life."

"It's a vitamin supplement. Man, if you feel that way about milk, that's why you're so short." There was a long silence. "Here. Have a lullaby from your country- '_When the seas are rolling in/ When the stars are shining clear/ When the ghosts are howling near/ When we sing the Russian lullaby…'_"

"**The hell is…?** That's not… I just can't sleep, all of you shut up. It doesn't bother me."

"Considering that you're drunk almost everyday, I guess it doesn't," Kurama said. He picked up a coffee, ignoring Hiei's glares. "Well, the truth's a real whoremaster, isn't it?"

"Dude, you're not really going to drink that, are you?" Kuwabara asked. "I don't care what you say, I don't trust these guys."

"You mean, the ones that you wanted to lick their eyeballs?" Hiei asked. Then again, he wasn't taking any chances either. "How would you deal when you become a disgusting millionaire and then have an elevator? You mean to tell me you'd be too afraid to go in your damn elevator, too?" Kuwabara threw a sock at him. Just before it erupted in to a full out throwing battle, Kurama put his cup down with a loud clank which silenced the room.

"Well, they'd rather see us tear each other apart and profit rather than doing it right now. You should know that," Kurama said as though there was no break in the conversation. He looked at the table as he picked his cup back up, then at the other four. No one else had a cup in their hands, yet one was missing. "Did you see what happened to…?"

Kuwabara stared at the table and looked around. He screamed when he turned his head. Everyone turned to see a boy who appeared to be eleven or twelve gulping down the coffee. _How did we miss him? …Especially the way he's dressed._ "Hey, get outta here, you!"

"What, I just heard some humans were over here, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I can walk in here if I'm invited or not. I'm not a vampire. You guys should feel honored though cause I skipped orientation to come see you guys- not that they'd notice I was gone. So which one's Yusuke Urameshi?" the kid asked with a huge grin crossing his face. "Let's see. I know they said he's Asian and that he's kind of young so he can't be you…" He looked at Kurama then at Yusuke who was sprawled on the couch. "There he is. Man, what's the big deal?"

"Get out before we kick your butt out."

The kid was about to argue with him when a tall blonde man appeared in the doorway. He said something in German to the kid who answered in English, "What, you know you would have wanted to see these guys, too, Zeru."

Zeru stared at everyone in the room. Then he stopped. "**Is that you, my fuehrer?**"

"No, I'm not and you know I'm not," Hiei growled, not even bothering to say it in German.

"Ah, I forgot about you, General Lvov. Somehow you ended up with a rag-tag Americans, I see. Never able to even lick the boots of your father. And all of you… Well, I'll let that cup say for me what I will do to you." Zeru pointed at a coffee cup that had split down the middle. He walked away, basking in their shock, and dragging the kid away by the arm.

"Wait, what was that about? And who's General Lvov?" Kuwabara asked. "Isn't Yukina's last name…? What's _is _going on here?"

"Zamyatin's just a name for a file. So is her's. We need a name for this world just to get by here," Hiei replied, standing up.

"And when he said fuehrer, did he mean as in… Hit-"

"No. Not him."

"…Looks like we're going to have other things to worry about this time around," Kurama said. He started to wipe away the spilt coffee with a tissue. He sighed as it started to come apart in tiny strings on the table. "Then again, something like this is always something that gets everyone around the world interested." There was an awkward silence. "Anyone up for a game of Mao- they have a deck of cards."

There was no answer. He settled for solitaire.

-.-.-

"Hey, Reeve," Kujyou greeted Mukuro as she entered the building. She waved in response. "Fifteen minutes early as usual, like you run on clockwork or something. By the way, your boys came back all right? We forgot to do a follow up on that."

"Yes, actually. Except for the fact that Hiei slacked off and played Pac Man like he usually does," Mukuro said, noticing Nastume shifted in her seat. (Not that she thought much of it.)

"…You mean he does it all the time? I thought he looked more like one of those guys that works nonstop."

"Do you really think that or is it because the media says Soviets do that kind of thing?"

And it got awkward. "So can you believe that they made us go to this thing during the Dark Tournament, and on top of that it's not even that far away from it? It's like torture. I need some compensation for being such a good guy so long."

"For me, it brings bad memories…" Natsume mumbled.

They let that settle in between them, some sort of nonverbal agreement. Kujyou shifted in his seat and sighed irritably, chewing on his lip. "Man, we are so human washed. Though, I gotta admit, it does remind me of the old man. Back before he went out and became the king. I really wish all of us didn't walk out like we did. Now, no one knows where the hell he is…"

"Yes," Mukuro said. "Or any of them now."

"Shit, that's right… You think everything's gone to hell now? Over there? You know if it has, Reeve. You always seem to do."

"Well, you can connect to Demonworld servers if you know where to go. If you can find the Demon World Google, then you'll be able to get everything you want from the Other Side. Save for things you buy off ebay. Not even Russian brides. Not that that's anything to cry about."

"Do you know this from experience?"

"Both or one of those in particular?" She saw something large and bright fire truck red in the corner of her eye. She turned and saw it was a large man who had two small white horns on his head, who was wandering aimlessly through the aisles. The man noticed her gaze and started to walk towards her. Before he got close to her, she asked, "So you're the one from Nevada, right?" He nodded. "You're right here."

"Oh, thanks so much…" He glanced at the label on the table. "You're from California?"

"Yes. Mukuro Reeve." She held out her hand for him to shake it. After a moment's hesitation, he shook her hand with a slightly lose grip and he introduced himself as Enki Jones. She noticed Kujyou wave towards him and Natsume glanced over him, and even shifted between the people flooding into the building, to see who it was.

The president, Youda (in the files listed as Youda Himura) stepped up to the podium, a small toad-like man with a long white beard and wide eyes. He scanned the room for a moment, nodding smugly to himself. For a moment his eyes rested on Enki, who shifted nervously in his seat. "I call this meeting to order at one o'clock PM. First order of business, I would like to welcome our newest member to the team- Nevada's Enki Jones. This means that we are now at twenty-seven of the states. Also, I would also like to address another person in that row with that being said. Miss Reeve, I would like to remind you that your hair is out of uniform and that the standards for female wearing of hair is out of the face and…" He paused for her to finish.

She sighed inaudibly. "I suppose you may have forgotten, President Himura. The policy states that it must be worn so that it does not touch the collar and so a cap can also be worn… In the case that one's uniform does call for the wearing of a cap- in addition to the clause about it not being in your face. I would also like to remind you of the policy of male hair- which mainly deals with one being clean shaven. I hope you remember that."

"I suppose that being a lieutenant so many times made you forget to have respect for those above you." She had no answer to that. "In any case, we must address our next order of business and that is immigration into this world. I have the numbers from last year and I would like you- Reeve- to calculate the changes from last year."

"Understood… _Sir._" _You know, the feeling's mutual._

-.-.-

"Jesus Christ. He's _still _asleep? It's gonna be nine o' clock and he's still out…" Kuwabara shook Yusuke and groaned. "Oh, come on, Team Captain, get up and do your duties!"

"What, your ass can't fill in for him while his dumb ass is still out?" Hiei replied. "**Lazy bastard.**"

"Me captain? Hey, that doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. I'm not so sure about my leadership ability, but it'll be a good learning experience all right. Thanks for the nomination, _general_." Hiei grumbled to himself in his native tongue the rest of the way there.

They paused in front of a warehouse. Kurama, who was leading them, assured them that they were at the right place, though he was unsure as to why they picked such a place for the fights to be held. He shrugged and led them passed the chain link fence on which a sign was written in all caps "NO TRESPASSING." Outside of the building there was a large, green man with a mustache not unlike Hitler's (or maybe closer to Charlie Chaplin). He gave them a quick glance and let them all in. The crowd inside stared at them and reluctantly parted for them to pass. Kuwabara (_What the hell kind of tournament is held in a stupid warehouse? Do they think they're sneaky that way or something?_) shuttered slightly when he heard them muttering their dirty comments as they passed.

As they approached the center of the room, they saw a woman with short brown hair and what appeared to be something between fox and cat ears. "Hey there, you fans of blood and gore, I'm Koto, and I'm going to be the emcee for you this week. We're back after fifty years. I've just been informed that Team Urameshi has entered the building and are ready for some action. Both teams please come to the marked area."

Kuwabara fidgeted all the way there when he recognized two of the members of the other team as Zeru and Rinku. Zeru walked to the center, nearly goose-stepping his way there with an arrogant snarl on his face. He refused to shake Kuwabara's outstretched hand, to which the teen pulled his hand back, grumbling with clear anxiety.

Koto went on, "Okay, so the marked area that you two are standing in will serve as the ring, and it's ten counts after you leave this area that you're out of the match. Now we need to come to a decision on how to do this. As always the default will be a series of one on one matches and the first team to three wins proceeds to the next match." They both agreed on the default. "So now without further ado, let's begin!"

-.-.-

Keiko stomped her feet when she stopped to ensure that she grabbed Botan's attention. When she twisted around, nearly smacking herself in the face with her ponytail, Keiko asked, "Botan, we've been circling this place for almost an hour by now. Are you really sure you know where we're supposed to be going?" She reached for the folded paper in Botan's hands.

"Of course I do! Lord Koenma's directions never fail!" She tucked the paper safely into her pocket anyway. "According to the directions, this should be on the left side of Holloway Street. So we're somewhere on Holloway Street…"

"You mean that one that we passed three blocks ago?" Shizuru asked. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and her lighter from her pocket. "Hand me those directions, I think we can just backtrack and get there that way."

"There's absolutely no problem, we just happened to drift off course a bit. Besides that, I must have just thought I read the sign wrong."

"The sign said Wilton Boulevard. How do you get…?"

"Well, it is quite dark out here you know!"

Keiko sighed and tugged the paper from Botan's pocket, ignoring her half-squeal-half-gasp. She stared at it for several moments, and then turned it on its side. After another few moments, she turned it again and handed it to Shizuru. "Let's just go back…"

"We better not've missed anything," Shizuru grumbled as she followed after Keiko.

"Well, I'm sure that the boys would have not had their chance to fight so if you're so concerned about…" They both turned around and glared at her. "…and then we just get going now…"

-.-.-

"And it looks like round one is Rinku versus Kuwabara! And begin!"

Rinku rolled his eyes. "Man, and I was hoping I'd get to take on Urameshi but it looks like he's STILL sleeping. What an idiot. What, does he think he can fight us in our sleep or something?"

"Oh, shut up, you're fighting me, remember!" Kuwabara growled.

"Hey, don't remind me. The more I stare at you, the more I want to puke, and it doesn't have to do with the fact that I hate Rick Astley! (_…What the hell is that supposed to have to do with anything? _Kuwabara thought.) Well, at least I know I won't have to try all that hard with you. You got the spiritual energy of a snail from what I'm coming up with."

Kuwabara grumbled under his breath and charged to attack but he was smacked in between the eyes and fell backwards. He got his balance again and blinked back a few stars, and maybe a bit of Mars, too. _Was that his fist or his knee? _He saw Rinku's hand bouncing along in a rhythmic motion. In his hand was a hot pink and canary yellow yo-yo.

Rinku grinned at the look on Kuwbara's face. "So what're you gonna do, human? You didn't really think you'd win this one barehanded, did you?"

Kuwbara grabbed Rinku by the collar of his shirt and slammed a fist in his nose. Immediately Rinku backed off, clutching his nose as blood gushed out. Kuwabara pivoted around him as he summoned his Spirit Sword. "Looks like you don't stand a chance anymore, kid."

"What, you think you can win with that giant glow stick?"

"Glow stick? You're fighting with yo-yos, how stupid are you?"

"Kuwabara, shut the fuck up, or we'll all be dead before this fight ends," Hiei said.

"Yes, if you don't mind… we do want to see some blood," Koto added.

"Shut up! Everybody shut up! You're all against me! Why don't you people ever respect me?" Kuwabara shook his fist at Hiei.

"You don't earn my respect. You want to lick the eyeballs of the rich. You're the most disgusting person I have ever met. And I can think of five, no ten, things that's wrong with that whole scenario."

"Oh yeah, name one!"

"Other than the obvious?"

"Kuwabara, ignore Hiei and look behind you!" Kurama said.

As he turned around, he felt the strings of yo-yos wrap around his ankles and wrists. On reflex, he pulled his arms away and tried to step away, but all that did was tighten its grip on him. He tried to pull his hands together to unlace them but they were trapped held spread-eagled and legs shoulder's width apart. He felt a warmth pass through the strings and they glowed an odd shade of gold before he was lifted in the air at the pace of a balloon cut off its string…

Botan, Keiko and Shizuru walked into the warehouse at that point. Keiko stood at the front of them, mouth wide open in shock. She jumped up to find where Yusuke was through over the heads of the crowd members. She groaned and started to push through the crowd.

"Come on… Yusuke, where are you? Yusuke? I know you're here somewhere! Why don't you come out and save him?" she screamed.

"Keiko! Hold on, you can't just show your way through here. These guys aren't as nice as hu- people usually are." Botan struggled through the crowd, trying to keep up and keep track of Keiko's movements while keeping an eye on Shizuru, who walked as though she was going through the parking lot.

Botan slammed against Keiko, but just as she was about to celebrate, she saw that they were standing in front of a large blue demon with six black eyes.

"Hey, little girlie. You lost or you just asking for someone to give you a good time? Wrong time and place, princess." The demon grinned and sniffed the air. "Human, huh? I can smell it coming right off you."

"I… In your dreams, mister. I know Yusuke's fought bigger and worse demons that you before, now move," Keiko growled. She crossed her arms to hide her shaking arms.

The demon laughed and his long snakelike tongue rolled out towards Keiko's face. Shizuru spat out her cigarette and brought it down on the demon's tongue. As Keiko hurried away towards the team, Botan gave Shizuru an overenthusiastic smile and the two continued after her. They stopped and joined the team who were all staring up at the sky. There was a collective chant growing in the crowd- "Drop him, drop him!"

"H-hey, don't you think this is a little cheap? I mean… wouldn't you rather kill me with your hands?" Kuwabara asked.

"Not talking so big now, are you?" Rinku laughed. "Well, don't you hear the crowd, Kuwabara? I gotta give them what they want." He smirked as the yo-yos started their journey back to his hands.

Kuwabara shut his eyes, not wanting to see what was coming and he waved his hands around wildly trying to find something to give him at least another moment's chance to think. _Wait a second, this is just like Byakko's…_ He summoned his spirit Sword when he was a foot above the ground, clenching his teeth and the force placed on his arms, before he was launched towards the demon.

"Don't get too cocky! You're walking right into my yo-yos!" Rinku threw out the yo-yos just as Kuwabara summoned another sword that… _Oh shit! His sword's bending now?_ Just as the realization hit, the two were both sent out of the ring.

"Amazing! Both fighters are outside the ring! …Naturally, I'll take the ten count!" Koto said. "One… Two… Three… Four… Oh wait!"

Rinku crawled back to the ring and forced himself to standing. "**Phew… looks like I'm gonna have to use the last of my energy to… Oh damn, not him again! Stay down!**"

Kuwabara stood up and wobbled back and forth. As he did so Rinku noticed that there were some strings on Kuwabara's arms. He used a bit of energy to wrap the pieces of the yo-yos around to immobilize him.

"Try coming back now!" Rinku sighed with wry relief.

"And that's ten. That's a win for team Rokujukai." Koto nodded to a somewhat scantily clad woman wearing a Bluetooth headset and with a program on Microsoft Excel, she marked an X on the side of the projector labeled "U Team" and an O for Team R.

"D-dammit! This isn't fair! When I get out of these stupid strings I'm gonna kick your butt for good! Meet me behind that Applebee's at noon tomorrow!"

"Leave me alone!" Rinku retreated behind his teammates.

"Help… please? I think I'm stuck…"

"Kuwabara…" Botan sighed.

**And that's all...?**

**Shit, it's been how long? I apologize for how awkward this is. I also have no excuse for why this took me over a year to get finished. I haven't progressed much on paper either.**

**1. Rinku is German. He's a child of an immigrant. There's no importance attached to this. But that whole team's pretty much connected to him and Chu. There's nothing indicating this, but that's perfectly fine since Chu and Rinku are the only ones who live.  
2. The term "human washed" is pretty much like how people say "white washed." This is me trying to world build. It's kind of lame, I know.**

**I'll try my best to get the next chapter out faster, and I promise that it will be better than this! Sorry. And thanks for your time nonetheless.**

**(edit: Took me longer because I was editing for you-fic. Because I had to resubmit everything, I was going back and fixing everything I missed. Truth be told, this one was long overdue for some changes because I missed some severe typos and I left some even worse plot holes. I tried to fix everything up, along with my "I'll tell you about X later!" crap. I just find that really unprofessional to put. If it's explained later, then explain it later, shit! Don't tell people. If people have questions, they will ask questions.  
Anyway, so the game plan is to deviate from the story of Yuyu Hakusho after this arc is over. I want to get to the heart of why this story is now called _Doubt_. Because there is a good reason. Also it doesn't sound stupid like Lovecraft Anon did. So please continue to join me. I will see you hopefully sometime within the month. But as I'm an English major in college, please allow me to have some time.)  
**


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